The Good Fight
by Janeway1390
Summary: Post "Chosen" and "Not Fade Away" LA is taken over by demons and when Buffy and the Scoobies come to help it starts a chain of events that change their lives forever
1. Gifts and Curses

**A/N **This is an epic fanfiction started by Spangfuffy Networks and each chapter will be written by a different author. The six writers are janeway1390, teenageriot2004, Kelly1990, seVensIns, Peaches, and Raycheld.

**Disclaimer: **Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel were created by Joss Whedon and David Greenwalt. They along with Mutant Enemy and Twentieth Century Fox own the characters and the Storylinese up to "Chosen" and "Not Fade Away" . "The Good Fight" is owned and copywrited by Spangfuffy Networks.

**Gifts and Curses**

Written by: Janeway1390

Angel stood in the alley, dripping wet with water and blood stinging his eyes. "The dragon was easy" he thought chopping off the head of another demon. He backed up farther into the alley trying to put some space between him and the demon horde rushing at him. His hopes fell when his back hit cold stone. He smelled human blood and turned to look at Gunn; he was losing a lot of blood and wouldn't last the fight at this rate.

Angel turned his attention back to the demon that was trying to cut off his head. He kneed it in the stomach, and then grabbed its head ramming it into the stone wall behind him, cracking its skull. They had been fighting for almost an hour and Angel was getting tired. He lost Spike and Illyria about twenty minutes ago and as much as he hated Spike he hoped the vampire was still alive. He had mixed feelings about Illyria, but he believed she could hold her own.

He heard a scream and turned to Gunn who had a sword sticking out of his chest. Angel caught the man's gaze before he fell to the ground, dead. Even though Gunn didn't kill many of the demons he diverted their attack, but now Angel had twice as many demons coming after him. It was too much. He had three coming at him at a time and even at full strength there was no way he would be able to make it out of here alive. He looked at the building where Gunn's body lay and saw an escape ladder. He pushed the closest demon out of his way and jumped up catching the ladder. He climbed up it as fast as he could, stealing a look below him. The demons were chasing him, but he had enough room as he climbed to the top. He kicked the ladder with all the strength he had left. After a couple times the bolt fell out of its hole, releasing the ladder from the building, causing it to tumble down. Then he ran.

---------------------------------

"_Blue, get down!"_ Spike shouted as he watched a sword slice the air where the demon goddess's head was moments ago. As she got up she kicked the demon, impaling him on his own sword. Spike was not sure how, but they were close to the mouth of the alley. He was bleeding from multiple cuts and Illyria wasn't faring much better.

"We need to get out of this bloody alley" Spike told Illyria, who only nodded. Spike snapped the neck of the demon he was fighting, turned, and ran. He met Illyria at the mouth of the alley. She was staring at something to her right.

"What are you staring at? We need to lea-" he stopped short as he saw what she was staring at. Another cavalcade of demons was running towards them. "Oh balls" he rolled his eyes as he muttered the words_._ He grabbed Illyria's arm and they took of to the other end of the street, zigzagging through buildings, trying to get the demons off there scent. They made it to the docks. Spike spotted a ship preparing to take off. It obviously wasn't public knowledge yet that the apocalypse was happening. Spike grabbed Illyria and ran for the boat. Looking over his shoulder he could see the demons were still on their tail. Spike vaulted himself into the air, hauling Illyria with him. As they hit the deck Spike looked to the ancient demon. "That was close," Spike muttered. "Now if we just knew where we were going..."

--------------------------

"Andrew, shut up" Dawn said gently slapping the back of his head.

"I'm sorry, but I can't do this again. I just got 'Cry Me a River' out of my head. I don't want it back in there. Although Justin turned out to be quite the hottie"

Dawn rolled her eyes and turned back to looking out the window. "Buffy how much longer until we're supposed to get there?"

"We should be landing in about an hour"

"Do you think something really bad is going to happen?" Andrew asked being serious for the first time since they boarded the plane.

"Well, Giles is pretty wigged and he wouldn't bring us to England if he didn't think it was needed. So usually that means there is an uber evil." Everyone was quiet for a moment. The Immortal grabbed Buffy's hand offering reassurance. "But it's okay. We'll fight it and move on, like we always do."

--------------------------------------------

"Why are we down in this hole? I deserve more than to be locked up with the rats." Illyria said scanning her surroundings.

"We're not part of the crew, pet. This is a cargo ship and if they find us on it we'll be arrested."

"You are afraid of the humans and their justice system?" Illyria smiled at this, knowing it would annoy Spike_._

"No" Spikesaid, glaring at the demon goddess, an annoyed look on his face. "We just don't have time for that. We need to get as far away from Los Angeles as we can."

"Where will this ship take us?"

"I don't know. But wherever it is it will never be far enough" Spike sighed. "I wonder if Angel and Gunn got out alive"

"The one you call Gunn is dead. I no longer feel his essence. Angel is still alive. For now" Illyria watched as the vampire's face fell with the news of Gunn's death. She was still confused about human emotions. She had felt sadness over Wesley's death and a need for vengeance. What confused her more was she was glad that the vampire standing next to her was still alive. To her vampires used to be nothing more than the rodents, lower even than humans. This feeling of comradery with Spike perplexed her.

The boat came to a sudden stop and jerked slightly.

"Why have we stopped?"

"We must be 'here'. Wherever 'here' is"

-------------------------------------

_Buffy stood in an alley rain pouring down, soaking her clothes. She was surrounded by demons, but none of them were attacking her. Instead they were drawn to two familiar figures in front of her. She walked closer to them seeing a face she never thought she'd see again._

"_Spike?"_

"_Hello, luv" he said never taking his eyes off the demon he was fighting. _

"_Angel? Both of you. Together."_

"_Yeah. It's not like I like him now, but he's changed. I need him to fight"_

"_How did you get back?" Buffy asked turning her attention back to Spike._

"_It's a long story. Right now I have something very important to te-"_ _he was cut off by the sound of Angel screaming as he turned to dust_.

"_Angel" Buffy screamed._

"_Buffy, listen to me." Spike shouted as she stared at the place Angel used to be. "Buffy, the Big Bad is coming" he screamed again, but his voice was filled with pain. Buffy looked at his chest and her eyes filled with tears. He turned to face her "You have to know who to trust" he said as he turned to dust._

"Buffy, wake up. Buffy!" Dawn said as she gently shook her sister.

"Huh?" Buffy asked as she woke up from her dream. "Where's the Immortal?"

"He's landing the plane."

"He's doing what!?"

"Landing the plane. It's his plane he can do what he wants" Dawn shrugged. She wanted to ask Buffy about the names she shouted in her dream, but didn't know if she should.

"You might as well say whatever you want Dawn." At her sister's confused expression, Buffy chuckled "I know there's something you want to say"

"You still miss him don't you?"

"No, I don't." Buffy replied a bit too quickly, knowing exactly what Dawn was going to ask. "That happened a long time ago. I've moved on"

"_I _heard you Buffy. You said his name. You called out for Spi-" The Immortal interrupted Buffy's answer as he came out of the pilot's cabin. "We're here"

----------------------------------------

"Is the big bad coming?" Buffy asked echoing Spike's words from her dream. They were sitting in a conference room in the new Watcher's Council building. Well, Giles' house. But it was rather big. Bigger than Buffy had expected. She didn't understand how an ex-librarian could afford such a place, but that didn't matter now. She was sitting at the head of the table, with the Immortal standing behind her. Xander was to her left and Willow was on her right. Faith, Andrew, and Dawn were sitting next to them.

"I'm not sure. All I know is that there is a big evil rising in LA"

"LA? You didn't say that on the phone. Does Angel know? Is he alright?" Buffy asked trying to keep the panic out of her voice. She couldn't shake the thoughts of her dream. If it was true then maybe Spike was alive. But if it was true, then that means that they would both die. She wouldn't let that happen. "I think there at war with an army of demons" Seeing all of their questioning glances she added "I had a dream".

Then the doors to the conference room burst open. Spike stood in the doorway, his flesh charred from too much exposure to the sun. "War's over. We lost" he said before collapsing to the floor revealing a blue woman standing behind him.

"We need to get back to LA" Illyria stated walking into the room, steeping over Spike's unconscious form.

"Who the hell are you?" Buffy asked getting out of her chair and rushing over to Spike.

"The vampire will be alright. He was not exposed to the sun long enough for it to be fatal."

"You didn't answer my question. Who are you?"

"I am Illyria. But you may recognize this form" she said turning into Fred.

"Oh my God, Fred" Willow said getting up.

"Yes, that was the former owner of this shell. Now we need to get back to Los Ange-"

"Wait a second. You mean Illyria, as in one of The Old Ones?" The Immortal interrupted staring at the goddess.

"Yes. I am she. Now don't interrupt me again, or you will feel the pain of a thousand deaths." Illyria cocked her head as she said this_._

"Why you... I am The Immortal" he said trying to regain his ego. "You do not speak to me like that!_"_

"You are nothing to me, Immortal, nothing but a poor excuse for how the world was in my day_"_ she said tilting her head towards Spike. "Are you this 'Buffy' he and the other vampire talk about?"

"Yes" Buffy said not taking her eyes off Spike. So far some things in her dream were happening and she knew what they had to do, but before she could say anything Illyria spoke again.

"They speak very highly of you, I assume you are their leader"

"Yes. And I know what you are going to say." she turned to the group "Giles gather the troops. We're going to Los Angeles"

-------------------------

Buffy was on a plane for the second time that day and she didn't like it. She was confused about how Spike could be back and she was frightened she would lose him again. They hadn't gotten a chance to talk. He was still unconscious. Illyria was watching over him in a separate room in the plane. She didn't know what to make of the demon goddess. She was fighting on their side so for the time being Buffy decided to trust her.

"The vampire's awake" Illyria stated opening the door to the other room. Buffy jumped up and went inside, leaving Illyria with the others.

"Spike?" Buffy asked afraid that she was dreaming again.

"Hello, luv" he said. Buffy froze at the sound of his voice.

"How? When?" was all she was able to get out.

"It's a long story, but it was connected to the amulet. I've- I've been back for a couple months."

"Months? And you didn't call or write, or do anything. Didn't you think that I'd like to know?"

"Yes, I almost came, but I wanted my sacrifice to show you how much I- I" Spike paused not knowing what would happen if he told her. He didn't want to ruin her life anymore than he already had.

"You what?" she asked, but all she got was silence. She turned around and headed for the door.

"I love you" he said, stopping her dead in her tracks. "I wanted to show you how much I love you"

"A simple 'I love you' would have done just fine" she said turning to face him.

"Yeah, cos me saying I love you is really as grand as my saving the world from the original evil." Spike was in pain, but his wit was fully healed. "Then I go find you're making googley eyes with the Immortal, biggest wanker if ever there was one."

"God, more jealous vampire crap."

"I thought Riley was bad..." Spike was attacking, as he always did when confronted with something he didn't like. "He's not good enough for you..."

"Who is?" she asked "The only normal boyfriend I've had left because he thought I didn't love him. Angel left for 'my own good'. You died and then didn't tell me you were back"

"Do you love him?" he asked. He dreaded asking the question because he dreaded that she might say yes. He looked into her eyes; she was searching for the answer.

"Is that your business?" Buffy asked, mirroring what she had said to Angel when he asked the exact same question, only he had been referring to Spike.

"Does he make you happy? Does he make you laugh?"

"He doesn't make me cry" she stated and walked out the door. Leaving him standing there staring after her.

------------------------------------

Angel came back into the hotel lobby after checking every room to make sure there was nothing hiding in them. After he escaped the demons he went to many different places, but the Hyperion Hotel seemed the most logical. He gathered all the weapons that he left there, in case something like this happened with Wolfram and Hart.

He heard footsteps and grabbed a sword ready for a fight. As the doors to the hotel opened he realized he knew the figure that emerged from them quite well.

"Buffy"

"Angel..." Buffy had pain in her voice. Angel was her first love, and no matter what he would always have a part of her that no one could touch.

"Let's set up," Giles interrupted, trying to break the uneasy feeling in the air.

Angel looked up at the rest of the group. He spotted Spike and Illyria among the familiar faces.

"Spike..." He muttered, trying to sound disappointed he was alive.

"Good to see you old man..." Spike replied with a glint in his eye.

Everyone was settled into Angel's hotel. They had set up a pretty good base, mapping out where most of the demons would likely be and sending groups to go fight them. Buffy had avoided Angel and Spike as much as she could while she was there. Just as they were getting ready to go fight Angel grabbed her arm.

"Let's go to work," Buffy announced, picking up a sword.

"Be careful, Buffy" he said looking into her eyes.

"I'll be fine"

"I-I just don't want to lose you"

"You never will" she said putting a hand on his shoulder. "Now let's go kick some ass".


	2. More Questions Than Answers

**A/N **This is an epic fanfiction started by Spangfuffy Networks and each chapter will be written by a different author. The six writers are janeway1390, teenageriot2004, Kelly1990, seVensIns, Peaches.

**Disclaimer: **Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel were created by Joss Whedon and David Greenwalt. They along with Mutant Enemy and Twentieth Century Fox own the characters and the Storylinese up to "Chosen" and "Not Fade Away" . "The Good Fight" is owned and copywrited by Spangfuffy Networks.

**More Questions Than Answers**

Written by Kelly1990

Buffy paced the large room at their makeshift 'command central' as she looked over her army. Scanning her eyes over each of them, she made sure that every one of them held an adequate weapon. Each fighter either _held a weapon_. Buffy couldn't help but feel drained when she wondered how long the battle would last. Besides that, she was tired of losing people she loved. How many would die fighting this? She hated to think of the worst outcome, but after so many years of being the slayer, she had to think that way.

"Are we ready?" Buffy questioned with a voice that showed she would lead them through this.

"Um , so soon?" Willow asked, looking down uneasily.

"The battle has already started , guys. And guess what? We're late. They aren't going to wait for us to train and prepare," Buffy replied firmly. "It's time."

"You heard her," Dawn said, proudly going to stand beside her sister. "Let's go."

The groups began to assemble and slowly leave the safety of the hotel. Spike walked past, and Buffy felt uneasiness in her stomach. The last time they had walked off into battle together, Spike didn't walk away.

"Spike," she said suddenly, and he turned to face her.

"What is it _Buffy_?" He asked, a little concerned by the discomfort in her voice.

"Um..." Her eyes drifted to the Immortal who was standing on the other side of the room, watching her. "Nothing," she replied with a sigh and walked out into the cool night air before he could say anything.

"Strange," Xander commented once outside. All the fighters had their weapons raised and ready to attack. "This is war, yet I see no opposing side."

He was right. There wasn't a sign of any demons near them.

"Everyone, watch your back," Faith warned, stepping to the front of the small crowd. "They've gotta be 'round here somewhere."

"Buffy?" The Immortal asked softly, coming beside her. "Are you okay?"

She turned to him with a weak smile, but determined eyes. "I will be. As long as I come out of this without having myself a nice new gravestone," Buffy replied a bit nervously.

"You'll be fine," he assured her and she smiled.

"Thanks," she stated kindly and shared a soft kiss with him.

Angel and Spike stood side-by-side, jealous easily seen on both of them as they watched Buffy.

"She _can do _better," Angel muttered aloud.

"Notour choice mate," Spike _replied_. Though he didn't think so at all. Buffy could do so much better than the Immortal.

"Have we switched? Are you being the rational one?" Angel asked the younger vampire.

Spike rolled his eye. "I've always been the more level headed peaches, after all, I don't wear lifts, like a poofter," Spike smiled as he let the last word roll of his tongue.

Angel glared at Spike. _'Maybe he'll die' He thought to himself. 'Maybe he'll STAY dead'_

"Faith," Robin said, walking up to stand beside her.

"Hey."

"Watch yourself out there tonight," he told her.

"Same to you," she told him and smirked a little.

"So, do I get some kind of pre-battle gift?" Wood asked, a sly smile on his lips.

"Maybe after," she said, raising her eyebrows and walking off with a smirk.

The gang had all begun talking, seeing as how no one spotted any demons.

"_Um, guys..."_ Dawn said suddenly after hearing something.

Buffy had heard it too and perked her head up. Buffy turned her body so she was facing the silent group. As she scanned the darkness, no one noticed the shadowed demon that was making its way closer.

"Buffy, watch out!" Willow suddenly shouted and pointed with wide eyes. Buffy followed her friend's gaze in time to see a clenched fist fly into her face.

After that, none of them had time to concentrate on anything but the demon in front of them. Because not too long after the first demon made its appearance, many others jumped the gang.

Now and then, they each stole looks to see how their loved ones were doing. So far, everyone was holding their own.

A demon had made Buffy drop her sword and now held her by the neck. She was kicking at it, but it wouldn't loosen its grip. The demon suddenly fell to the ground as his back was sliced open. Buffy looked over to her savoir after she picked up her sword.

"Thanks, Xand," she said sweetly. He nodded and they both got back to their fighting.

After a while of tiring battle, both sides were holding up. Suddenly, a large vehicle pulled up that caused Buffy to stop her fighting for a second.

After a moment, a dozen or so soldiers came piling from the vehicle and began to fight the demons. The last two people to emerge were Riley Finn, and his wife Sam.

"Its captain cardboard," Spike triumphantly announced.

"Shut up Spike," Xander yelled back.

"Riley?" Buffy asked, trying to keep demons from cutting her to pieces as she walked toward him.

"Fight now. We'll explain later," Sam said as she joined the fight. Riley went in behind his wife and began to fight his own battles.

Shrugging, Buffy went back in, throwing her sword in a demon's chest. _'My life isn't complicated enough...' she thought to herself._

"Buffy, I can't!" Dawn yelled in response as she backed up and slowly sank down. "My arm!"

Dawn's arm had been sliced, not enough to do real damage, but enough to hurt her fighting arm.

"Xander!" Buffy yelled as she kept her attack up. "Get with the protecting!"

Without hesitating, Xander took a stance in front of Dawn, attacking anything that come near her.

_"Buffy, hate to say this, but we're getting our asses kicked," Angel yelled with annoyance in his voice._

Buffy looked toward his direction as she finished off another demon. He was right. Everyone was bleeding somehow, and were all looking worn out.

"Robin!" Faith yelled as she watched a demon wrap its claw around his neck and _snapped_ it. His lifeless body fell to the ground.

Buffy watched wide-eyed, and a few others turned to see.

When Sam turned to see what the yelling was about she saw Wood's body. She opened her mouth to say something, but nothing came out.

Looking down at her stomach, she saw the sword that had just been embedded into her lower abdomen.

Falling to her knees, Sam struggled to keep alive. Riley rushed to her side and was cradling her in an instant. Buffy fought as hard as she could to keep the demons away from the couple so Riley could try and save her.

"Sam? Come on, this isn't how it ends for you," he told her firmly. Blood began to drip from her mouth and a weak smile appeared.

"Fight for me," _she _told Riley. She didn't ask. She told.

"Sam? Sam, come on, wake up..." Riley felt tears on his cheeks, but remembered her last words. She didn't want him to give up. Letting her body fall, he took her rifle and stood up. Standing back-to-back with Buffy, he fired the gun, killing demons everywhere_._

Faith had also begun to release her rage harder than before.

"Buffy!" Xander cried out as more demons approached him and the young brunette behind him. "There's too many!"

Buffy stopped fighting to see that they were now outnumbered. All of them were injured in some way, even if it was just a small cut or a few bruises.

Buffy thought long and hard before she called out her decision. "Everyone, stand down!" She yelled and began to retreat herself. Everyone, minus Wood and Sam, got the wounded and ran as quickly as possible back to the Hyperion. Once inside, Angel, Buffy, Spike, Faith and the Immortal held the doors closed in case of attack.

"We need to barricade the doors," Angel muttered_._

"Done," Willow said as she waved her hand, creating a yellow haze in front of the door_._

Buffy ran over to Dawn. "Let me see," she ordered, picking up Dawn's arm softly. "It's just a cut...nothing major." Buffy stood up, feeling too pressured and rushed as the injured looked to her. "We need medical supplies for these cuts," Buffy told Angel.

Giles looked up. "In the blue travel sack," he shouted. Buffy stared at him. "Given our track record in recent times, I thought it a prudent move,"

Buffy made her last stop at her sister's room to make sure she was sleeping okay. Walking back downstairs, she smiled weakly to the people in the room: Angel, Spike, Faith, Riley, and the Immortal.

The Immortal walked over to her and carefully placed a kiss on the top of her head, and Spike's and Angel's muscles visibly tightened at the gesture.

"Riley...I'm so sor-" Buffy started.

"Don't, Buffy," he said weakly. Tears were still falling down his cheeks when he looked up to them. "I'm just gonna..." He didn't even finish before he went upstairs, taking a room close to the other soldiers.

Buffy looked over to Faith, who had an unreadable expression on. "Faith?" Buffy asked softly. Faith looked over to her with a smile and craned her neck a little.

"So, B," Faith started, no pain apparent in her voice. "When's the next battle? That one kind of got me on an energy high."

"Faith..." Buffy started. Why wasn't she grieving or showing any pain at all.

"I'm kind of beat, so I'm gonna go crash," Faith announced and quickly went up the stairs.

Buffy looked to the Immortal. "Can you go talk to her?" She asked him.

"Of course, Baby," he said and kissed her forehead before retreating upstairs.

Buffy turned to Angel and Spike.

"'Baby'?" Spike asked with a smirk.

Angel was also suppressing a grin and Buffy rolled her eyes. "It's a pet name," Buffy explained. "You know like 'pet', 'luv'...and so on," Buffy said and sat down.

Angel and Spike both smiled as they sat down near her. She thought it would be good to send the Immortal up so she could talk to Angel and Spike, but for a while it was just silence

Upstairs, the Immortal walked in to Faith's room and stood against the closed door. "So, Faith...how are you?"

"Peachy. You?" She asked, pain a little apparent in her voice.

"You don't have to build this wall," he told her softly. "If you miss him then-"

"Why don't you quit preachin' and give up with the shrink act? I'm fine. Robin and I had a 'thing'...nothing more."

"And you aren't upset at all?" He asked, a little skeptical.

"I'm happy for the guy," Faith lied. "He gets a free ride out of this livin' hell, right?"

Angel decided he would finally break the silence. "Does he make you happy?" Angel asked finally.

"Who? The Immortal?" Buffy asked and sighed. "What is this? Intervention with a slayer? I'm fine."

"He didn't ask if you were fine," Spike said softly. "He asked if you were happy."

"At the moment? No. Because my sister is hurt, I lost two people today, and now I've got two very annoying undeads that won't back down," she said with mock-annoyance.

"That's not what I mean, Buffy," Angel said and sighed. "I mean...does he make you happy?"

She didn't answer but just looked down.

"Do you love him?" Spike asked again, and Buffy didn't answer. Instead, she looked up.

"How do I answer that Spike?" she snapped. "I don't know if its love. I don't know if I CAN love," She turned her head to face Angel. "I told you that already."

Angel looked at Buffy. "You did?"

"The cookie dough?" Buffy reminded him.

"THAT'S what that was about?" Angel replied shocked.

"I'm very confused here," Spike interrupted. "There was cookie dough involved when you two kissed before I died saving the world?"

"No, I'm the Cookie dough," Buffy argued turning back to him.

"Is this some kind of kinky fun?" Spike asked, utterly lost.

"Ugh!" Buffy sighed, as she got up to leave. "You just don't understand..."

It was hours after the intervention Spike and Angel had given Buffy. She lay in the bed, the Immortal's arm around her as he slept. She turned her head slightly. And when she was sure he was asleep, she carefully took his arm from around her waist and put it back on his side of the bed. After sighing, she adjusted herself a little closer to her side, near the edge.

The question of 'do you love him' had lingered on her mind since Spike had asked it before.

The Immortal was nice, and seemed well, perfect.

But she didn't know if she wanted perfect. She wanted a little away from ordinary.

She wanted...

Well, she just wouldn't think about that.

The next day, Buffy sat, looking a little tired at the table. Looking out one of the windows, she saw that the demons had given up on the barrier.

"Hey, Will," Buffy said softly.

"Yeah?" She looked up from her small breakfast.

"I need you to research...."

"On what?" She asked, narrowing her eyebrows.

"These demons...they're everywhere, Will. Find something that could help us defeat them all at once. Or maybe make them weak."

"That's a lot to look for," Willow stated.

"Can you handle it?" Buffy asked with a smirk.

"Unless we've stepped into the Twilight Zone," Willow said and smiled brightly. "I'm on it." Willow paused for a second.

Buffy was in a smaller room by herself, trying to get away from the noise of everyone else. Slowly, the door opened as Spike and Angel stepped in.

"Hey," Buffy said, a weak smile coming forth.

"We just wanted to make sure you were okay after what happened yesterday," Angel said gently, referring to the deaths of Wood and Sam.

"Actually, I wanted to know," Spike said proudly. "He just followed." Angel slightly turned his head to give Spike a deadly glare.

Buffy couldn't help but smile as she stood up. "Well, I'm fine," Buffy said, but not as strongly as she would've like.

Suddenly, Andrew burst through the door. "Buffy, Dawn was calling me names, and then she threatened to do a spell that would turn me into a goat!" Andrew whined.

Buffy raised her eyebrows. "Could she make you a mute goat?" She asked, only half joking.

Andrew whined a little more, and then pouted as he ran the opposite way down the hallway.

The three left in the room shared an amused smile and began to exit the room. Angel was first to walk out. As Spike made his way out the door, Buffy lightly grabbed his arm. Looking concerned, Spike turned back to her.

"What is it?" Spikeheld himself back from saying pet. She wasn't his anymore_._

Buffy mentally took a deep breath, and then gave him a small smile. "It's nice to have you back," she said quietly. Spike held back the joy. It was her first kind words since they had been re-united. Hewas about to say something, but was cut off by Buffy pulling him into a small hug. Before he could respond to the embrace, she pulled away and walked out into the hallway, leaving a confused Spike behind.

Spike looked to the doorway Buffy had just walked through. "Let's play with Spike some shall we?" He muttered in a mocking voice. "Bloody hell," he whined as he went after the woman he loved.

"Buffy?" The immortal had come from behind her, just as she reached the end of the hall.

"Oh, hey," Buffy said and smiled nervously. The Immortal gave her a quick kiss and pulled her into an embrace.

Spike walked round the corner of the hall, just in time to see The Immortal and Buffy kissing. A shudder hit his back. Angel walked round after him. "Spike, I nee-" Angel stopped as he saw what Spike did_. _Buffy had her back turned on them, as the Immortal still held her close. As the Immortal rubbed Buffy's back lightly, his expression turned cold as he watched the two souled vampires from afar.

The more he thought about the relationship Buffy had with the two, the deadlier his glare became. Spike caught a glimpse of the Immortal's face. "He's up to something," Spike muttered.

"He's always up to something." Angel replied as he turned to leave.

Spike smirked. "That he is," The vampire rolled his eyes and walked after his grand sire.


	3. Anticlimactic

**A/N **This is an epic fanfiction started by Spangfuffy Networks and each chapter will be written by a different author. The six writers are janeway1390, teenageriot2004, Kelly1990, seVensIns, Peaches. **This story will be updated every Saturday**

**Disclaimer: **Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel were created by Joss Whedon and David Greenwalt. They along with Mutant Enemy and Twentieth Century Fox own the characters and the Storylinese up to "Chosen" and "Not Fade Away" . "The Good Fight" is owned and copywrited by Spangfuffy Networks.

**Anticlimactic**

Written by: Janeway1390

Buffy walked into the lobby of the Hyperion ready to do some damage control. She wanted to talk to Faith and Riley over the loss of the significant others. Faith seemed fine, like Wood's death didn't mean anything to her, but Buffy knew it was only a facade. The other Slayer had stayed in her room all night and most of the day, not letting anyone in, except for Xander. They were sitting side by side on the couch, silently comforting each other. Buffy knew Xander was probably the best person to help Faith, so Buffy moved on to Riley.

Riley also kept to himself, but unlike Faith his face was filled with pain. Buffy walked to his room and softly knocked on the door. There was no answer, but she knew he was in there, so she quietly opened the door.

"Please leave" he said his back to her.

"Riley, it's me"

He turned his head and then moved over on the bed, motioning for her to sit down. They sat there silently for a few minutes, until Riley finally spoke.

"We were in Brazil, when we heard what was happening here" he started, staring at a picture of his wife "It was the first vacation we took after our honeymoon. We were having lunch and we got a phone call. She was out of her seat and putting battle gear on before I even got off" he chuckled, then stopped a lump forming in his throat. Buffy grabbed his hand offering reassurance. She had no idea what to say to him, so she let him continue.

"At first all we knew was there was a pretty big infestation in L.A. Then I learned Angel was involved, and I figured he could handle himself, so I told Sam we didn't have to go. She wouldn't listen to me. She was a real fighter. But I kept telling her we could turn back, that Angel had it under control, but as we got closer we got word that a blonde woman had arrived in town. I stopped complaining and finally agreed we needed to come. I wish I never answered my phone"

* * *

Willow sat in Wesley's old office surrounded by books. She had been looking through them for hours trying to find anything that could help them to defeat the demons and found nothing. Most of the books they brought didn't even mention Wolfram and Hart. She looked at her watch. It was six o'clock, it would get dark soon and they would have to fight again. She was glad that these demons only came out at night; it gave them time to regroup.

"Come on Wes, help me out here" she said closing the book in front of her. She was saddened by the news of his death. When she first met him he was a stuck up British guy barely able to fight. Then he changed into a very powerful man dying to save the world. Five years ago she wouldn't have thought about spending time with him outside of the library, but since her last visit she had really wanted to get to know him better.

Willow got out of her chair to get something to eat, but was stopped when her knee hit the edge of the desk, causing her to look down. Curious, she reached down to open the bottom drawer and found it locked.

"Reveal" she said causing the lock to open. She opened the drawer and pulled out a book with a wolf, ram, and heart on the cover.

"Thanks Wes"

* * *

"Buffy!" Willow shouted coming out of the office causing everyone in the lobby to look at her.

"What's wrong Will?" Buffy said coming down the stairs.

"I think I found a solution to our little demon problem." Willow paused making sure that all the Scoobies were in the room "The reason the demons only come out at night are because the sun kills them, like vamps."

"But how does that help us if they won't come out during the day?" Faith asked standing and walking over standing next to Buffy.

"There's a spell I worked on a few years ago to draw the power of the sun at night, to help Buffy with slaying. I think I can make it work for this"

"But Will that was small. It could only kill one vamp before it died. How do you expect to kill a whole demon army the size of LA with it?" Buffy asked.

"Well I'm more powerful now, but I do need someone else magically inclined to draw power from. The only one I knew powerful enough was . . . T-Tara" Willow said barely getting her name out.

"Oh, I've been practicing some magick. I could help." Dawn said breaking the awkward silence.

"Sorry, Dawnie, but I'm talking major mojo here"

"Me. I'm not exactly a warlock, but I do have a lot of power. Could you draw power from me?" The Immortal asked.

"Yeah, I think so, but it still might not be enough." Willow scanned the group trying to find power in any of them. She was starting to worry that her plan wouldn't work. Then her eyes fell on Illyria.

"Illyria, as a god you have a whole lot of mystical power right?"

"Yes. My power was greater than many of the other gods. They would cower before me."

"Well, will you be able to help with the spell?"

"In this plain of existence my power is not as great" she said tilting her head to the side "But I believe it will be sufficient"

* * *

"Will, do you have everything?" Buffy asked walking over to the witch.

"Yeah, I think so"

Buffy nodded scanning the room. All the Scoobies, Slayers, and troops were gathered in the hotel lobby, waiting to go back out and fight. Buffy's eyes stopped on the two Vampire's standing in the corner looking very unhappy. They weren't thrilled knowing they would have to stay behind in the safety of the hotel, away from the threat of the sun. Buffy grabbed her sword and lead the way out of the hotel.

They all stood in an street intersection forming a protective circle around Willow and her two power sources. Willow was breathing heavily, preparing herself for the spell. They stood there for a few minutes as the night beat back the remaining rays of day. The sound of the demons running toward them could be heard before any of them were seen.

As Willow started chanting the fight began. Many of them had suffered injuries from the previous night's battle and it cost them. Xander looked around noticing more human casualties than demon. He stole a look at Buffy to make sure she was okay, but he only caught a glimpse of her. All he was staring at now was concrete being stained by his blood.

Faith heard Willow screaming her incantation to be heard over the loud clanging os swords and the screams of pain. Faith found her eyes drifting from the demon in front of her to a space a few feet away. She screamed as she saw him get stabbed in the stomach and fall to the ground. She ran to him easily killing anything that got in her way. She checked his pulse and sighed of relief as she found one.

Faith picked Xander up, not aware of how much blood he was losing. She started running to the safety of the hotel, not caring that she was fleeing from the battle, something she never did. Xander started to stir in her arms, his eyes fluttering open.

"W-What's happening?"

"You're hurt, but I'm gonna get you fixed up"

"No, th-the fight. We have to fight"

"Well right now you're not even a match for Andrew."

He smiled before falling back into unconsciousness. Faith was closing in on the hotel, hoping she would make it there in time.

"I'm not losing you too"

* * *

"I call you from the shadows of night, from the depths of darkness." Willow chanted as bolts of orange energy erupted around her "Emerge from your hallow ground and bring forth your penetrating light." Putting emphasis on her last word she reached her hands to The Immortal and Illyria. Bolts of energy erupted from her hands and engulfed the two beings draining the power from them.

From the center of the circle a tiny speck of light appeared, then grew bigger and floated to into the night sky. For a heartbreaking second Willow thought that it wasn't going to work, but as the demons began to realize what was happening they stopped fighting and ran for cover. They never made it. Simultaneously the demons burst into flames and burned out of existence. Willow turned around to look at The Immortal and Illyria and gasped.

* * *

"Help" Faith yelled as she burst through the Hyperion doors. "Get the First Aid kit and bandages" she said as Angel and Spike came running into the lobby. She laid Xander on the couch and tried the stop the bleeding.

"How much?" Faith asked looking up at Angel.

"He's lost a lot, but not enough to kill him . . .yet"

"It's not just his" Spike observed smelling the air, then looking at Faith "You've lost some blood too"

Faith looked down and saw a large gash across her thigh. She shrugged and turned her attention back to Xander. His faced was drained of color and he lay perfectly still. If it wasn't for the slight rise and fall of his chest, Faith would have thought he was dead. She started to feel sick and backed away from Xander, letting Spike and Angel take over.

She looked out the window and saw something light up the night sky. She smiled to herself "Something's finally going right"

* * *

"Willow? What's wrong" Buffy asked hearing the witch's gasp. Buffy followed Willow's gaze to the demon goddess and noticed that she was no longer blue. "Oh my God"

"Where am I?" Fred asked staring at the people in front of her.


	4. Entities

**A/N** Sorry it took so long to get this chapter to you. With school starting it's hard to fit everything in. But from now on all chapters will be up on Saturdays. Please review and tell us how you like it so far.Thanks!

**Disclaimer: **Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel were created by Joss Whedon and David Greenwalt. They along with Mutant Enemy and Twentieth Century Fox own the characters and the Storylinese up to "Chosen" and "Not Fade Away" . "The Good Fight" is owned and copywrited by Spangfuffy Networks.

**Gifts and Curses**

Written by: SeVinsIns

"Fred?"

She blinked, "Willow?" she stared at her, confused, "What...why? I'm...what's going on?"

Willow tentatively looked over at Buffy, who also stared at her with a confused expression.

"What'd you do?!" Buffy asked.

"I...don't know," Willow answered, looking back at Fred.

"Well, I'm not exactly the brightest of the bunch sometimes," The Immortal said, "But I think the spell went wrong."

Willow threw him a quick glare before gently saying, "Fred," then, unsure of what else she could say, she settled for, "Are you okay?"

Fred's eyes were wide as she stared around, "What's happening?"

"War," Willow said casually, "But you...I don't know how you...oops?" she tried.

"Buffy! Duck!" Dawn yelled behind her.

Buffy didn't even bother to turn around and fell to the ground seconds before a sword whipped through the air where her head would have been. She jumped back up and spun around, "Thanks, Dawn!" she yelled as she turned to fight the demon that had moments ago attempted to decapitate her.

Dawn nodded as she watched the last of the demons fall.

"Willow!" Buffy called, stabbing the demon through the middle, "Get her out of here!"

Willow reached out for Fred's arm and began pulling her back in the direction of the Hyperion.

"I'll stay," the Immortal told her as she walked away.

Willow nodded and continued walking, Fred following behind her quickly, while still watching everything that was going on. They got to the Hyperion as fast as they could, and burst through the doors.

* * *

Spike, Angel, and Faith stood around what Wllow could only assume was Xander.

"There, that should do it," Spike was saying.

"He's still bleeding!" Angel yelled.

"Well I'm sorry," Spike said sarcastically, "Why don't you try to bandage him while staring at nice warm, delicious, human blood?"

"Do you have any idea how gross that is?" Faith asked.

"Guys!" Willow interrupted.

They all turned towards her.

"Yeah?" Faith asked.

"Uh...we've got a problem," Willow looked over at Fred, who was standing beside her and staring around, looking scared.

Angel and Spike shared an annoyed glance.

"Stop it, Illyria," Angel said, "It's not funny."

Fred's looked over at him, "Angel?"

"Oh, that's cute," Spike rolled his eyes, "Let's change forms and mess with emotions because today hasn't been nearly complicated enough!"

"But..."

Angel took a few steps closer to her and stared directly into her eyes, "Stop it, _now,_" he demanded, "That's not funny!"

"Angel, I don't know what you're talking about," she took a step back.

Angel took another step forward, "Illyria! I'm _so_ not in the mood for you, that I swear to _God_, if you don't..."

"Angel!" Willow yelled as he raised his hand.

"What?!"

"She's telling the truth."

Angel looked over at her, "What?"

Willow pointed to her, "That's really Fred."

Angel dropped his hand, "Oh."

There was an awkward moment where both he and Spike felt equally stupid. It ended when Angel grabbed Fred and pulled her into a rib-crushing hug. Fred looked surprised, and then happy, and then pained as she realized how hard he was squeezing her.

"Angel," she sputtered, "Can't breathe!"

Angel let her go, "Sorry," he said, "It's just, you know, when people come back from the dead you tend to have strong emotions."

"You didn't hug me when I came back from the dead!" Spike objected, walking over to them, "'Course, if you had, I'd've thrown myself onto a stake."

"That's all it'll take?" Angel asked.

Spike ignored him and turned to Fred, "Its really you? Not Illyria?"

Fred slowly nodded, "I don't know who she is, but I don't think I'm her."

Spike smiled and reached out to hug her, "Missed you, pet." he said.

Fred pulled back and smiled, "Yeah, um. That's sweet you guys, really. I'm enjoying all the attention. But if you don't mind me asking, what the _hell_ is going on?"

* * *

Buffy was disturbed by the images she saw. Lifeless bodies lay everywhere .She turned just in time to see Kennedy's body fall to the ground, covered in blood. She gasped, and her hand flew up to cover her mouth.

"Oh God," she said, "Willow..."

"Buffy!" she heard Dawn call.

Dawn ran up to her side, "Buffy, I think we should go. What's..." she followed Buffy's gaze, "Oh no."

Buffy shook her head, tears pooling in her eyes, "We should go?"

Dawn nodded, still looking at the dead slayer's body, "Yeah," she glanced at Buffy, "How're we gonna tell Willow?"

"God Dawn," Buffy said, walking forward and crouching next to her body, "I don't even want to think about it," she gently rolled her over, "Get the rest of the girls and head back to the Hyperion. I'll be right behind you."

Dawn nodded and walked away, leaving Buffy to think about how she was going to tell her best friend that another person she loved was dead.

"So let me get this straight," Fred said, sitting cross-legged on the floor and sipping a glass of water, "I died, some ancient god took over my body, then she disappeared and I turned back into me?"

Willow nodded, "Something along those lines."

Fred took another sip and continued to look confused, "But how? And where's this 'god'?"

"Two wonderful questions," Angel said, looking over at Willow. He was seated at a table in front of Fred, tapping a pen impatiently.

Willow shrugged, "I _told_ you. I don't know!"

Spike was pacing the room, his arms crossed over his chest and looking very peeved, "It _hate_ the bloody sun!" he yelled, kicking a chair. How are we supposed to just sit here while knowing that they're out there in danger and fighting and possibly _dying_?" he flopped down into the chair opposite Angel and continued, "And now I'm out of cigarettes!"

"Well maybe if you didn't smoke them all so fast and stopped pacing..." Angel said.

Spike glared at him, "Shut it, Peaches!" Spike yelled, "And how can you just sit there so calmly Mr. Oh-Buffy's-cookie-dough! I love her and she's still _cookie dough_!" he mocked.

Angel reached behind him and held up a large bottle of Jack Daniels.

Spike blinked a few times, "Oh. Yeah, that helps."

Angel held the bottle out further, and Spike took it, bringing it to his lips and downing a few large gulps.

"You're taking the whole back-to-life thing pretty damn well, Fred," he said when he finished, handing the bottle back to Angel.

Fred shrugged, "I'm too confused to be upset."

Just then, the doors flew open, and the army of girls and a few other select individuals walked in. They looked bruised and wounded, but still victorious.

Everyone else stood at their appearance, Willow rushing over to get the first aid kit from Faith. The girls walked past them, Dawn stopping on her way and standing in between Spike and Fred.

"Kennedy's dead," she said quietly.

Spike's face fell, "Poor Red," he murmured, looking at Willow who was rushing around with bandages.

Angel and Fred looked confused, "Who?"

Dawn looked over at Riley and Buffy as they walked in, Riley carrying Kennedy's body as Buffy tried hard to keep tears from falling. He gently lay her down on one of the tables, and turned to Buffy.

"Thanks Riley," she said, almost in a whisper.

Riley nodded, "You okay?" he asked.

Buffy shrugged, "Better than Willow's gonna be."

Riley sighed and shook his head, not knowing what to say. Instead, he pulled Buffy into a hug, and she hugged back.

Both Spike and Angel felt a bolt of jealousy run through them, and they looked over at each other. They knew it was a comfort hug. Nothing more. But Spike's train of thought was going 'comfort hug', 'comfort kiss', 'comfort sex', and he could tell by Angel's face he was thinking something along those lines. And even though they were both at a silent war for Buffy, one thing was becoming clear: If Buffy couldn't be with Spike, he'd rather see her with Angel, and vice versa. Which confused things even more, and no one had the time to try to figure it out at that moment. Especially now since Willow was making her way back across the room.

She was unwrapping a bandage, obviously preparing to hand it to Buffy, when she saw the expression on everyone's faces. She knew what had happened before she even saw her. When she did, she dropped the bandages and rushed over to the table. Tears streamed down her face, and Buffy pulled her against her for comfort and physical support as she sobbed.

The rest stood in an awkward, dismal silence as Faith strutted over.

"What's going...oh," she looked over at Buffy and Willow. Riley had walked away moments before and disappeared.

"Damn," Faith continued, shaking her head, "You lose everyone you love in this line of duty don't you," she looked down at her feet as sadness filled her eyes, and everyone who heard her silently nodded.

The Immortal stood next to the bar, talking quietly on a cell phone. When Spike saw him, so calm and smiling while the rest of the room was grieving, he felt a flash on anger, and caught Angel's eye, gesturing towards him.

Angel looked over his shoulder and back at Spike, before the two of them turned and made their way over to the Immortal.

He was just finishing his conversation when they reached him.

"That's nice," Angel commented, "You know, rest of the rooms in tears, you're over here chatting it up and laughing on the phone. What a supportive boyfriend you are!" he added sarcastically.

The Immortal glared at him, but slowly, it turned into an evil looking smirk, "Yeah, well while you two were sitting inside drinking, the rest of us were out fighting a war," he picked up his bottle of beer, "At least I'm useful."

Spike, who had taken a seat on one of the bar stools and had downed another shot of whiskey, slammed the shot glass down on the bar and turned to him.

"Look, I know it must be tough for you, being the rebound guy and all..." he started.

Angel bit his lip to keep from laughing. He could already tell this was only going to lead to a fight, but he didn't care. He'd been waiting for years to get back at the Immortal.

The Immortal looked taken a back for a moment before he said, "You're _really_ one to talk about 'rebound guys', Spike."

Spike stiffened and moved to stand up, but Angel cut him off.

"Yeah, well, why exactly are you so interested in Buffy anyway? I mean, there's how many other girls out there..." he paused, "Why is it that you always seem to go after all the ones either Spike and I have already had?"

He knew he was crossing lines that he should've stayed far away from, but he was upset, angry and confused, also partially intoxicated, so he really wasn't caring.

The Immortal snorted, "Don't flatter yourselves," he said, taking another sip of his drink, "Just because all your girls happened to move on to bigger and better things, doesn't mean that I seek them out."

"Right," Angel said, "Out of all the women in Rome.."

Spike shook his head, "I don't get what the big deal is with you," he said, "What _exactly_ do you have that either the poof or I don't?"

The Immortal shrugged, "The ability to go out during the day, a pulse," he stopped, "Oh yeah, and I haven't tried to kill her or _rape her._"

He hit a nerve in Angel, but the nerve he hit in Spike crossed a line, and he snapped. Before he could control himself, his fist hit the Immortal square in the jaw and he flew over the bar. There were loud crashes as glasses and bottles broke, and everyone in the room turned to stare. Angel was stared in shock and shook his head.

"What the _hell_ are you talking about?" he asked as the Immortal picked himself up off the ground, "Neither Spike or I ever.."

He looked over at Spike, who was avoiding his gaze, and he knew. He gaped for a moment and then sputtered, "You raped her?"

Everyone in the room was staring at them, including Buffy, who had let go of Willow. Giles took Willow's arm and led her to a chair where she slipped down into it, not really hearing what was going on.

The Immortal had climbed back over the bar, and was wiping the blood from his lip, "Well," he said, looking down at the blood on his hand, "I see we're going to make this physical," he shrugged, "That's okay, I don't have a problem with that."

He raised his fist and aimed for Spike, who ducked. Instead, the Immortal hit Angel. Angel grabbed his nose and held it for a minute, as Spike stood back up and stared between them. There was a completely silent moment where you could have heard a pin drop, before all three of them were fighting.

It was all a blur to the spectators, who were all far too afraid to try and get in the middle of it. Buffy watched them for a moment, before she rushed to step in. Chairs and tables were being broken. At some point, Angel had been thrown into a wall, and was picking himself up as Spike and the Immortal rolled around on the floor. The Immortal's hands were around his neck, and Spike rolled his eyes.

"Oh brilliant, try to strangle a dead guy," he said between punches, "Good idea. Cut off my air supply, because I _really_ need it!"

Buffy looked around for some help, "Faith!" she yelled spotting her.

Faith shook her head, "Hell no," she said, "I'm not getting in the middle of that!"

Buffy glared at her, "Please! Faith, there's no one else!"

Faith sighed, "Fine," she walked over to her, and the two of them took a deep breath before running in to break up the fight.

At one point, Angel tried to get back in, but Buffy glared at him and he stepped back, looking completely ticked that he wasn't hitting anyone and Spike was.

Finally, the two girls managed to break them apart, Faith pushing the Immortal away, and Buffy hauling Spike back by his arm. She spun him around and glared at him, "I don't _need_ this right now!" she hissed.

Spike's expression softened, "I know," he said, not meeting her eyes, "but you heard what he said."

Buffy sighed and shook her head, "Yeah," she said, turning back around.

The Immortal was arguing with Faith, and Buffy feared that if she didn't break it up, another fight would get going.

"Guys!" she yelled.

They stopped and looked over at her.

"I get the...history between the three of you," she said, looking between Angel and the Immortal, "But this fighting, it's a big no. We don't need it. Especially not right now."

"Right," the Immortal said, "but if you think I'll _ever_ leave you in alone with either of them, especially him," he pointed to Spike.

"That's _not_ your business," she said forcefully.

The Immortal shook his head, "Whatever," he said, "I just don't see how you can trust either of them after everything they've done."

"Oh yeah," Angel said, still trying to get his nose to stop bleeding, "And you're just a saint, right? Never killed anyone or hurt the innocent?"

The Immortal turned to make a smart remark, but Buffy stopped him.

"_Stop it!" _she yelled, "We're not here to talk about who killed how many people or who..." she caught herself and glanced at Spike, who was quick to look away, "The point is," she continued, "As far as I know, everyone in this room working towards the same goal here," she turned towards some of the other slayers, "And that goes for you girls, too. The teen-aged drama and bickering needs to stop. We're all here for the fight against evil..."

* * *

On the other side of the room, Andrew, who had been seated in a chair across a table from Dawn, leaned over and whispered, "Uh oh, I feel a big, motivational Buffy speech coming on."

Dawn rolled her eyes and sighed, "Best get comfy," she said, crossing her arms and slouching down in the chair.

"Speeches?" Fred, who had been seated down the table a bit asked, "She gives speeches?"

"Yeah," Dawn answered, "Big, long drawn out things that can possibly take over an hour. And they all say basically the same thing."

"We're all together in the fight against good and evil. This is a war for all of us," Andrew and Dawn muttered in unison and sighed.

No matter what, some things would never change.

Buffy didn't have time to start a speech before Giles interrupted her, "Buffy," he said.

She stopped, looking annoyed that he'd interrupted her, "What?"

Giles hesitated, "Not that your lectures aren't...motivating," he started, "But we've got bleeding girls and emotional wounds to tend to..."

"Oh," Buffy said, glancing around the room at the very relieved looking gang, "Right. Sorry. I'll save the speech-ing for later then."

Dawn groaned, "Note to self, remember to bring iPod next time you plan to be around Buffy."

Andrew huffed, "No fair! I don't have an iPod!"

Buffy however, had made her way back over to Willow and was crouching down next to her.

"You okay?"

Willow shrugged, "Yeah," she said, "I just...need to be alone, I guess."

Buffy nodded, "Okay, we'll find you someplace."

Willow nodded back and wiped at her eyes. The Immortal took this opportunity to walk over and tap Buffy on the shoulder.

"Look," he said, "I'm sorry about the fighting. It was just..."

"I know," Buffy said, "Emotions run high. Especially in times like these," she stood back up.

Across the room, Angel and Spike both watched them with equal expressions of disgust.

"God, I _hate_ him," Angel muttered.

Spike nodded, "I just want to snap his neck in half and watch him flop on the ground in pain!" he made some sort of snapping motion with his hands.

Faith grimaced, "Thanks for the visual."

Spike nodded, "No problem."

Angel groaned, "There's got to be someway to kill that guy," he said as he watched the Immortal and Buffy embrace.

"Perhaps you're not grasping the concept of the word 'immortal'," Xander said, sitting up on the table and wincing.

"Xander!" Faith said, resisting the urge to throw her arms around him, "My God, are you okay?"

"Yeah, great," Xadner said, "Just lost a huge amount of blood and broke most of my ribs, but great!"

"Yeah well," Faith said, gesturing over her shoulder with her head, "Looks like you're one of the lucky ones."

Xadner looked past her at Kennedy's body, and then over at Willow, "Poor Will," he sighed, "Think you can...help me walk over there," he swung his legs over the edge of the table with a hiss of pain.

Faith rushed forward, "Yeah, sure," she threw one of his arms over her shoulders and lifted him off the table.

"Ribs!" Xander yelled in pain.

"Oh, right," Faith said, adjusting so she was touching them, "Sorry."

"Yeah," Xander said as the two of them began to struggle towards Willow.

The two vampires watched them walk away, and then stood in silence.

Angel was the first to break it, "Rape?" he asked, still not sure how to approach it.

Spike shook his head, "Not now," he said.

"It's true?" Angel admitted that he was shocked.

Spike nodded.

As much as Angel wanted an explanation, he doubted that it would have helped the situation. And he figured now wasn't the best time for another argument.

"I'm going outside to have a smoke," Spike said, walking past Angel and toward the doors, leaving him to stand there wondering how anything could possibly get anymore complicated.

Buffy stepped out of the room and shut the door behind her, leaving Willow in privacy. She turned around to find Giles staring at her expectantly.

Buffy sighed, "She's okay. She's not black and vein-y, so be thankful."

Giles nodded, "I think it'd be best for all of us if we went back to England tomorrow," he suggested, "Now that everything seems under control here."

"Yeah," Buffy agreed,"Yeah, that'd probably solve a lot of problems," she looked past Giles to where Angel stood, talking to Fred.

In her heart, Buffy knew that leaving wouldn't solve anything. Could possibly make things worse. But at least she'd but some distance between herself and the life she didn't want to remember. But deep down, she knew that it was impossible to run forever.

She turned back to Giles, "I'm gonna go outside for awhile," she said, "I need air."

Giles nodded again as she walked away. She pushed through the doors, and stopped. Spike stood there, idly smoking a cigarette and staring at the ground.

* * *

"Hey," she said.

He turned to her, "Hey," he said, glancing at her quickly and turning back around.

Buffy hugged herself and walked over next to him.

"Sorry about the tif with your super-honey earlier," Spike apologized.

Buffy rolled her eyes, "No you're not."

Spike considered this and then shrugged, "You're right, I'm not."

Despite herself, Buffy smiled, and Spike smiled back. And there was an awkward moment where they both started to wonder what could have been, before Buffy turned away.

Spike's smile fell, and he took another drag of his cigarette, "You heard what he said though."

Buffy nodded.

Spike looked over at her, "I can't believe you told _him," _he said, beginning to look pissed.

"I didn't!" Buffy said quickly.

"Then how'd he know?"

Buffy shrugged, "He's got 'sources'. He's the Immortal, remember?"

Spike exhaled smoke into the air, "How could I forget?" he asked sarcastically, "Makes himself all high and mighty, being "_The _Immortal," he complained, "Probably compensating for something."

He looked over at Buffy for an answer she refused to give, so instead they went back to the awkward silence.

"I'm leaving for England tomorrow," she said finally.

Spike looked over at her and hesitated, "Do you want me to come with you?"

Buffy was silent. She didn't know how to answer. A part of her wanted him there, and a part of her didn't. So she stood there quiet until Spike shook his head and threw his cigarette butt onto the ground.

"Buffy, I can't do this forever," he started, "You not knowing what you want, and me getting tossed around like garbage. I'm not doing the hot/cold thing again. I can't go through it twice. And as much as I hate Angel, he doesn't deserve this emotional roller coaster you're putting everyone on, either."

Buffy stared at him, completely taken aback.

Spike was still going though, "Buffy, I love you. And you know that. But until you've made up your mind," he stopped and sighed, searching for the right words, "Just...just don't. Because I _cannot_ do this again."

He didn't even give her time to react before he spun around and walked back inside, leaving Buffy in shock. She stared after him for a moment, and then groaned and covered her face with her hands.

* * *

"Love sucks!" she muttered.

"God Angel" Spike said walking up to the other vampire "Can this get any more complicated?" Angel didn't respond, he was only staring straight ahead. Spike followed his gaze and saw what had just come through the door.

Illyria.


	5. Exposition

**A/N **This is an epic fanfiction started by Spangfuffy Networks and each chapter will be written by a different author. The six writers are janeway1390, teenageriot2004, Kelly1990, seVensIns, Peaches. **This story will be updated every Saturday**

**Disclaimer: **Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel were created by Joss Whedon and David Greenwalt. They along with Mutant Enemy and Twentieth Century Fox own the characters and the Storylinese up to "Chosen" and "Not Fade Away" . "The Good Fight" is owned and copywrited by Spangfuffy Networks.

**Exposition**

Written by: Janeway1390

"Bloody Hell" Spike screamed staring at the demon god "She played us"

Illyria stood in the doorway, head cocked to the side staring at the blond vampire. "I do not understand"

Angel gave her a hard look, anger rising in him. "I told you not to do that" walking toward the shell of his dead friend.

"What's all the commotion about? I heard yelling"

The voice made Angel stop in his tracks. He turned to see Fred walking down the stairs. He looked back at Illyria. Then back to Fred.

"Damn, this is a freak show" Faith said. The remark was meant to be funny, but she found no humor in it. She looked over at Xander who was starting to turn pale. She grabbed him and helped him walk up the stairs, getting him out before things got even crazier.

* * *

Faith helped Xander get into bed. She tucked the sheets in around him making sure he was comfortable.

"I really appreciate the help" he said as his consciousness was starting to slip "But you don't have to stay with me"

She smiled at him "I'm not going anywhere. You just go to sleep. Get your rest"

* * *

Fred's eyes drifted from Angel to a blue demon standing behind him. "It that really what I looked like?"

Angel looked over at Willow who seemed to have come out of her state of grief and looked as confused as the rest of them.

"Willow, what did that spell do."

"I-I don't know. When I took the power from Illyria it must have taken the demon out of the body and left Fred."

Angel pondered that for a moment. It made sense, since Illyria forced her way into Fred's body there must be a way to force the demon out. "But that still leave's one question. Why is she here?" he asked pointing at Illyria.

"Maybe when they spell was over and it no longer needed the power it recreated from the original entity it made a new body since the host body was no longer available."

"Why couldn't it just force it's way back in like Illyria originally did?" Spike asked trying to make sense of the situation.

Willow just shrugged. She didn't know a lot about Illyria and wouldn't be much help in that area. She looked around the room and studied the faces. She didn't see Xander or Faith, she figured Faith took him upstairs. Everyone else was still there listening intently to their conversation. Except for Buffy. She spotted the Slayer through the window. She was sitting outside her head in her hands, totally oblivious to what was going on inside. Willow was about to walk out and talk to her when Angel spoke up.

"She was dead last time, that's how Illyria was able to take over her body. But this time Fred was alive and her soul was still in her body, not allowing the demon to enter."

"While that is all very interesting, the only thing I want to know is where Wesley is"

* * *

Buffy sat on the edge of the fountain outside of the hotel. She was overjoyed that Spike was back, more than he would ever know, but it just made her life more complicated. She often looked back on the last days before the final battle with the First. His words "_You're the one Buffy_" echoed in her mind whenever she thought of him.

There was also Angel. Her first love. Even to this day her heart leapt when she thought of him. It was even hard having Riley around. The normal boyfriend she had. Normal for her standards, at least.

Then there was the Immortal. She wasn't sure what his role was in this and right now she really didn't want to think about it. She snapped back into reality when she heard yelling inside. The group was huddled around two figures and they looked like they were deep in conversation. Buffy got up to see what was going on, then stopped.

"I don't want to know" she said turning.

* * *

Faith heard a noise and quickly opened her eyes. She looked over and heard Xander snoring softly. She looked at her watch and noticed that she had dozed off for about an hour. She went over and sat at the edge of Xander's bed, feeling his forehead. He was burning up, sweat starting to form on his brow.

Faith laid a cold cloth on his forehead and took his hand. The color was once again draining from his face and his skin looked ghostly white. The sight unnerved her. She was starting to develop feelings for the man. She wasn't sure if they had always been there or if she was compensating for the loss of Wood. She laid his hand back down and sat back in her chair, closing her eyes trying to shake the thoughts from her head.

* * *

"Uh, Fred about Wes" Angel started, his voice catching. He wasn't sure how to break the news to her. He was about to tell her when a cell phone went off. He turned to where the sound came from and saw the Immortal take out his phone and start to walk out of the door.

"Can you at least show some respect?" Angel glared at him.

"I don't need to show you anything. I really don't care about your problems"

"Then why did you come here?" Angel asked clenching his fist, ready for another fight.

"I came here for Buffy. I could have cared less if all of you died." The Immortal said a mischievous grin forming on his lips "If you'll excuse me I have some business to attend to"

Once he was outside, The Immortal answered his phone "How long?" he asked simply.

"In about two days sir. We have a team taking care of it now" a voice said from the other end of the phone.

"Good" The Immortal smiled looking back in the direction of the hotel "This problem is only getting worse."

* * *

Angel closed the door behind him, hearing Fred's sobs through the door. He told her about Wesley, Gunn, and everything else that had happened since she had died. She took the new of having a demon double of herself, pretty well considering what else she had been through. His heart broke for his friend, the only old friend he had. He had just realized the she was the only member left from his gang. Then he remembered. Conner. Questions started to fill his head "Did he make it out okay?" was the one he kept coming back to.

Angel raced down the stairs and headed for the door, determined to find his son. He was stopped short when Spike appeared in front of him looking distressed.

"What is it?" Angel asked trying to read the vampire's face.

"Buffy" Spike said worry showing in his eyes "I talked to her last night. She hasn't been back since. I even restrained myself and asked Rico Suave over there" Spike pointed to The Immortal "He hasn't seen her. Bastard isn't even worried. What if he did something to her?"

Anger flashed in Angel's eyes contemplating Spike's theory "No" Angel finally said shaking his head "He wouldn't. She probably went out on patrol. You might want to go look for her though"

"Where are you going, mate?"

"To find my son"

* * *

Spike stood outside the Hyperion trying to think where Buffy would go. Her scent was long gone he had no idea where to start his search. He remembered the conversation he had with her before she disappeared and hoped it wouldn't be their last. Something triggered his memory and he had a pretty good idea of where she had gone.

Buffy stood at the edge of the crater where Sunnydale used to be. She just stood there staring at the gaping hole in the land, wondering if anyone had even cared enough tp remember there used to be a little town there. But to most people it was nothing more than a map dot. She continued to stand there for most of the day, just thinking about how her life had taken her to this spot. She heard footsteps and knew exactly who it would be.

"I always said I'd come back" she said trying to keep her voice even "I thought that maybe if I came back you would be here or that there would be some way for me to bring you back"

"What stopped you?" Spike asked standing next to her.

"Nothing. I just never came. Told myself a million times that I wasn't that lucky. There would be no way for you to come back." she paused tears starting to form in her eyes. "Every night I save you" she echoed his words barely above a whisper.

Buffy could feel his eyes burning into her. She wanted to look up and meet his gaze, but her eyes wouldn't leave the ground.

"The dreams came every night. Not always of the battle, but some of the moments we shared. I told myself it would be time to come back when they stopped"

"W-When did they?"

"They haven't" she finally looked up into his eyes. She saw the love he still held for her and was amazed at how much was still there. They stood there in silence for a long time just staring at each other.

"I-I" Spike said breaking the silence "I'm staying here. In Los Angeles"

"Spike"

"No Buffy. You don't need this anymore. You made your choice. I love you and I hope you still know that. That's why I'm going to let you walk away from me" he said wishing the words never left his lips. He closed his eyes not wanting to watch her walk out of his life forever. After what seemed like an eternity he opened his eyes ready to follow her lingering scent back to Los Angeles.

He found himself staring right at her. His shocked expression made her giggle, but then she got serious.

"I'm tired of having people decide what's best for me. I'm with the Immortal right now, but I'm not sure what I see in the future with him, if there is a future. So let's just see what the future holds. Do you get what I'm saying?"

"An inkling of hope" he said smiling.

She smiled back , extending her hand out for him to hold "Walk me home?"

* * *

"What? What happened?" Xander slurred starting to wake up.

Faith bolted from her seat and sat next to him on the bed. "Xander! Thank God you're awake."

"What?" he asked again, awake, but not coherent.

"The fight. You were hurt, but I took care of you. You're okay now" Faith said glad he was awake.

"Anya?"

Faith's face fell "No, it's Faith" he looked at her more closely finally realizing who he was talking to.

"Oh, sorry. I think I'm delirious"

Faith just smiled. She grabbed the first aid kit and took out everything she needed to change his dressing , telling him of his heroics during the battle.

* * *

Antonio walked the shadows, watching the Slayer and the Vampire walked down the road hand in hand. After listening to their conversation he decided to set things in motion a little quicker than planned.

"Call The Master" he said looking at his partner "Tell him we have a problem"


	6. Desires

For disclaimer and other information see the first chapter.

**A/N** Sorry for not updating last Saturday. For those of you who didn't see the latest chapter od Remembering the Future, our site for The Good Fight crashed and we have been busy getting things back up. But as promised here is the next chapter. Thanks to everyone who reads and reviews. We really appriciate any feedback.

Episode Written by: Janeway1390 and Peaches

* * *

Buffy sighed as she woke up from a very pleasant dream. It was the second dream she had that night that involved Spike. These weren't the nightmares she had often had after his death. No, these dreams were about the life they could have shared. She rolled over and looked at the Immortal. He lay there peacefully and Buffy usually found comfort in the soft rise and fall of his chest. But not tonight. Ever since she and Spike had gotten back from what was once Sunnydale, she could sense something different about him. She could sense some anger under his usual veil of calmness.

She got out of bed quietly, trying not to wake him, and left the room. Once she made it down the stair she saw the commandos packing up and heading out. She walked over to Riley who was standing by the door as the last of the army men left.

"Leaving so soon?" Buffy asked already knowing the answer.

"Yeah. There's no reason to stay here. I hear they're having some trouble in Panama. So we're heading down that way."

"I'm really grateful that you came." she said hugging him.

"I know" was all he said. He took one last look at her before heading out the door. She heard the roar of engines and watched the trucks take off.

* * *

Buffy sat on the couch thinking about the past year. From her relationship with The Immortal to Spike coming back. A few days ago everything had seemed so clear. She found out Spike was back, but she was with the Immortal now. She enjoyed his company. The Immortal was a great guy, but since Spike had come back, she sensed something about him that was off. And after her talk with Spike last night she wasn't so sure of what she wanted anymore.

* * *

"Damn fools" The Immortal sighed, his plan was in progress, his minions were idiots, but the vampire problem would be dealt with soon and Buffy would be his again. His plan had gone into action as soon as he heard Buffy had been out with Spike. Everything was falling into place. And if there weren't any major complications, the deed would be done tonight.

"What is it now?" The Immortal asked answering his cell phone "And this better be good news because I am not in the mood right now"

"Boss we have a problem"

"What type of problem?"

"Well se-"

"Shut up" The Immortal commanded as he hear Buffy come through the door. He looked at her and smiled "Whatever the problem is deal with it. I'm on vacation and I told you I didn't want to be bothered"

"What was that about?" Buffy asked. She could tell something was going on that he didn't want her to know about. To any other person he would seem as calm as he always was, but to her seemed very nervous. The slight emphasis on 'deal with it' and his forced smile were dead giveaways.

"Just some business. I left a few unfinished objects back home" he said sitting on the bed "No matter, though. It's nothing as important as being here, with you"

She also gave a forced smile "Well you can get back to it soon. We're leaving in an hour. I have the girls packing up the few things we brought. I want to be out of here before Angel gets back and before Spike wakes up. I just want to leave and get on with my life"

"I'm glad to hear it. Something tells me that they'll never bother you again"

There.

She knew something he was planning something. She didn't even have to push to get the information out of him. All Buffy wanted to do was to make him call off whatever he was planning against the two vampires with souls. But it was too early. If she showed that she knew now she could get everyone killed. So instead she laid next to him on the bed. She formed a plan as he held her.

* * *

An hour later Buffy stood at the front door of the hotel after saying goodbye to Xander and Faith. They would only have to stay down here for a few weeks, until Xander was healed. She was anxious to get back to Rome. It was her home now and she missed it. She also knew Dawn missed it and all of her friends.

"Ready?" Willow asked walking through the door after taking the last of their things out to the cars. Buffy knew Willow still had some healing to do herself after Kennedy's death, but she was coping. Buffy looked around the room and saw Fred standing behind the desk. She looked out of place, like she wasn't sure if she belonged. Buffy knew the feeling.

"Yeah, I'll meet you guys out in the car" she said as Willow nodded. The Immortal smiled and kissed her forehead, following the witch out the door. "Will you tell Angel and Spike I said good-bye?" she asked walking over to Fred.

"Of course" Fred replied as Buffy turned to leave "It was really great of you to come"

Buffy turned around and stared at the woman, somehow surprised by her comment. "I know I haven't been around for a while and I don't know all that's happened, but I know it must have been hard to come back"

"If you ever need anything"

"I know" Fred smiled "Willow already has my plane ticket booked. I'm coming to visit in a few weeks"

"Goodbye Fred" Buffy said as she walked out of the hotel.

* * *

Angel stood in shock as he stared up at the ruined remains of Wolfram and Hart. He could hardly recognize it ; windows were shattered, debris was scattered throughout the street, and everything was burned. He wondered if anyone got out alive. That thought filled him with dread. Conner. The last time he saw him was in that building. But what scared him the most was that he couldn't pick up his son's scent. He had searched through the city for hours that led him to this condemned place, but this is where the trail ended.

"I guess Wolfram and Hart is pretty much closed for business"

* * *

Spike woke up to the sound of doors slamming and cars starting. He darted up from bed to look at the window, but was stopped by a note that had fallen to the floor. On the front was written 'Spike' by handwriting he knew well and there was a lingering scent of a familiar blond Slayer.

_Spike,_

_As_ _you've probably_ _already figured out we left. I would have said goodbye, but I thought this way was easier. You'll never know how happy it made me to see you alive again. You know how I feel from last night, so please don't chase after me and make this even harder. I hope some time we can see each other again without the tension that we both know is there. Hopefully that time will be soon. But until then . . . goodbye._

_Love,_

_Buffy _

Spike looked out the window, fighting the urge to read too much into the 'love' statement, and noticed that the cars had left. She had left. Without hesitation he grabbed his coat off the chair and ran out the room. She told him not to follow her, but he would rather fight for Buffy and have her hate him, than to never have her know how much he still loved her and only be friends. He didn't want to be friends. They couldn't be friends. He had told her and Angel once that they weren't friends and that they would be in love until it killed them both. He wasn't lying, but he realized that love carried on after death. He knew that from experience. He ran into the street and turned right, they had a head start and he had to beat the oncoming sunrise, but the wouldn't stop him.

* * *

Buffy turned to look out the back window, not sure why she even bothered. Part of her hoped that Spike would be there, running after her car. But she told him not to. She shot down all hopes he had last night. She glanced at The Immortal, sitting in front of her driving. She wondered if she made the wrong decision, choosing The Immortal. Why was she looking for Spike if she didn't want to be with him? She felt something tugging at her. Telling her to look back again and when she did she saw nothing.

* * *

Spike was running faster than he ever had. This was his only chance and he knew it. It turned another corner and saw a retreating black car. It was her. He knew it. The vampire quickened his pace, way past supernatural strength. He was running on pure fear. Fear of losing the best thing he had ever had in his life. He was about to shout out her name, but as he drew the breath to do so he was hit from behind.

Spike went crashing to the ground, skidding across the hard pavement. He turned to see his attacker, but there was no one in sight. He went to get back up, but couldn't. He was paralyzed and starting to lose consciousness. He saw Buffy's car fade into the distance, unable to stop it.

* * *

"Conner?" Angel asked whirling around to stare at his son. "I was so worried. I didn't think you made it out."

"Come on you have to have more faith in me than that? I'm very capable of getting out of a building."

Angel smiled, relieved that Conner was alright. He looked back up at the building then back to his son. "How about we h-head back t-to . . ." Angel felt a sharp pain in his back and began to lose his balance. He was about to fall to the ground when Conner grabbed him.

"Dad, what's wrong?" But he didn't get an answer as a fist connected with his face.

* * *

Spike felt like his head weighed a hundred pounds as he started to wake up. He tried to move his hand to wipe the blood from his nose, but he couldn't. His hands were chained to the ceiling.

"Bugger" he said looking at his surroundings. He was hanging five e feet in the air in the middle of a cavern. Somewhere deep under ground, he figured. There was a moldy smell and water dripped from the cave walls. He didn't see or hear anyone. He tried to move his feet, but they too were chained.

"Conner?"

"Oh bloody hell!" Spike screamed as he realized he was chained to someone. He was chained to Angel, who was just starting to come to. "Wake up, mate" he said banging his head against Angel's for emphasis.

"Why you?" Angel asked "Why do I always get stuck in these situations with you?"

"What can I say? We're soul mates."

Angel just grunted. He had a million different things running through his head. The most obvious why were they here and who was in charge of this.

"You're probably wondering what you're doing here" A figure said stepping out of the shadows.

"It's quite simple actually. I'm going to kill you"

Spike lifted his head, straining to see the man standing in front of him. When he came into view, Spike growled.

The Immortal.


	7. Destiny's Calling

Angel felt Spike stiffen beside him and turned his head to look at their attacker, Spike blocked his view. He was about to ask who it was when he heard Spike growl. Angel sniffed the air trying to find a familiar scent. He found two. The Immortal and the other was Buffy. Her scent was all over him.

"What the hell did you do to her?" Angel yelled fearing the worst. He tried and failed against his bonds, but they wouldn't break.

"I assume your talking about my Buffy" The Immortal said putting emphasis on 'my' . He chuckled at the expression he saw on the blonde vampire's face and imagined Angel's face held the same. "I did nothing to her. She's quite well, actually. Back in England and beginning to forget about the two of you."

"You son of a bitch"

"Watch your language" the Immortal scolded "And as much as I'd like to sit here and watch you die, I have plans with a certain Slayer"

Spike watched him walk away, feeling Angel struggling to get free next to him. "It's no use, mate"

"I can't believe your giving up"

"I'm not talking about getting out of here. I'm talking about Buffy. I can't believe she really. . ." Spike paused willing the words not to come out of his mouth because if they did it would really be true. If her kept them to himself there might be some way to change things. But the truth could not be kept hidden "She really chose him"

"Don't listen to him, Spike. We can't trust him"

"But I know he's telling the truth. Buffy left me a letter before she went back to England. She told me that she was with him now, not us"

"You got a letter? How come I didn't get a letter?"

* * *

Willow sat on her bed holding a cup of coffee. She remembered sitting here countless times with Kennedy talking and laughing. It took a lot trying to hide her true feeling from the rest of the gang. She tried to look like she was okay, that she was copping. But in truth she was torn up inside. She knew she wasn't in love with Kennedy, but she did have feelings for her.

She was starting to go through the young girls things, finding pictures of them together, and notes they wrote each other during class when Giles was lecturing about different demons cults. They brought a smile to her face.

Willow set put the things back into the box and went into the closet to get another. As she reached for another box on the shelf, she knocked one down, spilling it's contents over the floor. She cursed under her breath and bent down to pick up the box's items. As she looked at the contents of the box she realized it wasn't one of Kennedy's. It was her own memory box the she started when she was a child. She would put anything in there that she wanted to never forget. Intrigued she took the box back with her and started to sort through the various items.

She smiled as she pulled out a red decoder ring that Xander had found in a Cracker Jack box when they were seven. He had given it to her and asked her to marry him. She had said yes, of course, but they broke up the next day when Xander stole her Barbie Dream House.

Next she pulled out a picture of her, Buffy, and Xander before Buffy went to L.A. to visit her dad. There were a lot of pictures of her and the Scoobies in their graduation gowns before they fought the Mayor.

At the bottom of the box was a white envelope. She picked it up and opened it. Inside was a piece of paper folded in half. She frowned, not remembering putting this item in the box. As she unfolded the paper a picture fell out. It was of her and Tara. It was the day they had all gone to the beach, trying to cheer Buffy up after bringing her back from the dead. At the time they thought she was just scarred after being in Hell. In the picture they seemed so happy. There were no monsters no apocalypses. It was just a normal day they could spend together. Willow turned her attention back to the note and read;

_Dear Willow,_

_I remember you told me you kept this box for all of your memories. I found this picture the other day and it made me think of all the good times we had without the magick. I really want to get back to that. So I snuck this letter into your box so some day when we are old and gray we can look back at this picture and be reminded of how much we've been through together and we can still come out as strong and happy as ever._

_Love,_

_Tara_

A single tear ran down Willow's cheek. The letter was dated the day before Tara was murdered. _Murdered_. Two people Willow cared about had been murdered. The wounds left open by Tara's death still hadn't healed and the new ones left by Kennedy's were also fresh. The red head put Tara's picture in a frame and set it on her table next to the one of Kennedy.

* * *

"Hey" Buffy said picking up the phone.

"Hey babe" The Immortal said from the other end

"Where are you? I haven't seen you all day.

"I'm just taking care of some business. It was kind of urgent. But nothing to worry about."

"Oh, okay. I just called to see where you wanted to go for dinner."

"Sorry, but tonight isn't a good night. I'm not even in England anymore. I had to leave this morning. But I'll be back tomorrow"

"Where are you?" Buffy asked suspicious. He normally told her where he was going before he left. Most of the time he took her and Dawn with him so they could she the world. They had traveled to wonderful places like Paris and Japan. But this was different. This was business he didn't want her to know about.

"Look I have to go. I'll see you tomorrow." He hung up. He had never just hung up on her. Buffy was now very worried. She thought she heard yelling in the background. Setting her phone down Buffy grabbed her jacket and ran out of her room.

* * *

The closer Buffy got to Los Angeles the bigger the knot in her stomach grew. She got of her flight and grabbed a cab and headed to the Hotel. When she got there she was reminded of the recent battle and the lives lost. Shaking her head to clear the thoughts she entered the hotel, scanning the lobby for it's inhabitants. She didn't see anyone. In fact it was dark. Buffy glanced at the clock on the wall. It was 4:38 a.m. That explained why no one was around, but she still had a bad feeling in the pit of her stomach.

She ran up the stairs, not caring who she woke up. The closet room was Angel's so she headed for his door and flung it open. He wasn't there. She then went to Spike's room and found the same results. "Maybe they just went out" she thought. After all they were creatures of the night. She told herself to calm down and she quietly made her way over to Xander's room. This time instead of pulling the door open she just quietly knocked. Hearing no response from the room inside she opened the door. Xander was laying in bed, fast asleep. Faith was seated in the chair next to him, also asleep. She walked over to Faith and tapped her on the shoulder. Nothing happened. Buffy rolled her eyes and punched the other Slayer in the face.

* * *

Faith jumped up from her seat after feeling a fist connect with her face. She was about to fight back, but noticed who her attacker was. Buffy just put her finger to her lips and pointed to Xander and motioned for Faith to follow her out the door.

"Damn, B. Did you have to hit me?"

"Where's Spike and Angel?"

"I don't know"

"Damn"

"Why are you so worried? They're probably just out doing vamp stuff."

Buffy leaned against the wall and slid down to the floor, head in her hands.

"What's up with you?" faith asked kneeling beside her concerned.

"I just have a bad feeling"

"Like a prophetic Slayer feeling or an I ate some really bad Chinese food feeling?"

Buffy looked up at the other Slayer annoyed. Faith just smiled at her. "Did you and your friends do the research thing?"

"We're not friends" Buffy said quietly.

"I know, B. But I'm just trying to help.

"Not you, them. A-All of you" At Faith's questioning look Buffy continued "They don't care. To them Spike and Angel are evil. They worked for Wolfram and Hart and are against what we stand for. I thought that too, but it's hard to hate someone when your in love with them."

"Okay, but that doesn't explain why your not friends with the Scoobies"

"They all abandoned me. They don't trust me anymore. After everything that happened with the First they don't trust me anymore. We're friends, but not as close as we were. So I ran. I took Dawn and headed off to Rome. They really didn't like it when I got with the Immortal. I think I'm destined to be that person who they don't trust forever. There has always been something they would find wrong with everything I did. From trying to curse Angel again to trying to help you."

"Look Buffy, I remember you saving our asses when we fought the First. I believe me choose our own destiny. If you want to be the person your friends don't trust, then be that person. But I know they trust you and I know they love you. I also know that the person we all don't trust is the Immortal. And you came all the way from England to find Spike and Angel so maybe you should go do that"

"I don't know what I'm supposed to do" Buffy said as tears silently fell down her cheek.

"I can't tell you that. All I know is your destiny's calling. Go do something about it."


	8. Changes in Me

Buffy stared at Faith. Was the other Slayer actually giving her good advice. Buffy got up from the floor and slowly started to make her way down the hall.

"Wait a second" Faith said stopping her "I just have to know one thing. If your so worried about Spike and Angel and if you think The Immortal is behind it, why are you still with him? I know you don't love him"

"Because I don't love him. If I don't love him he can't hurt me" Faith's brow furrowed, confused by Buffy's statement "Angel, Spike, and the rest of the gang. I love them all and they are the ones who hurt me the most. Not the demons that try to kill me all the time. So I figure if I'm with The Immortal and I don't love him I won't get hurt. He's just convenient." Buffy said echoing the words she said to Spike. But this time was different. When she said them to Spike she actually had some sort of feelings for the vampire. Faith was about to respond when Buffy's cell phone went off.

"Hello"

"Hey, baby" The Immortal said from the other end of the line "I have a surprise for you. I'm on my way home"

"That's great. How close are you?" she replied trying to find some way to slow him down. He got home before she did, she would have a lot of explaining to do. She also had to find Angel and Spike before they were dust.

"I haven't left yet. My plane takes of in about an hour. I should be home in a few hours."

She had an hour. That wasn't much time. But she also had an advantage. She knew he was in LA, but he still thought she was clueless to his whereabouts.

"Good. I'll see you when you get home" she hung up. He mind raced with the countless places where she could fight the two vampires. Where would the Immortal keep them? The Immortal's lackies were mostly vampires so it was either underground or in some other secluded place.

"The mines!" Buffy shouted starting out the door.

"What mines?" faith asked running after her.

"The Immortal owns a series of mines under the city. Actually he owns a bunch of them that run all over the world. I'm betting that's where he has them" Buffy said quickening her pace. "I'm going to need your help"

"It's kind of obvious" Faith joked.

Buffy just shook her head allowing herself to smile. It took them twenty minutes to reach the entrance to the mines at the base of the hill.

"Looks a little dark. You got a flashlight, B?"

"Nope. But luckily evil things love torches" she said pointing into the mine where a group of torches were mounted to the wall.

As they got deeper into the mines Buffy started to lose hope. The two Slayer's had searched eight different caves in the past hour and a half and found no sign of anyone. She was starting to lose patience and she could tell Faith was also. Buffy was about to stop and suggest they go search someplace else when she smelled a faint hint of smoke.

"Faith"

"I smell it too. I think it's coming from over there" she said pointing to her left. They started walking in that direction when they heard screams. They ran into the mouth of the cave and saw two figures chained to the ceiling, in the middle of the circle of flames. All Buffy could make out through the thick smoke was bleach blonde hair. She looked for an opening and jumped through, covering her face. She reached the two vampires and started tugging at their bonds trying to unleash them from the rock. Faith came up beside her and started doing the same. Angel's chains broke and Buffy caught the unconscious vampire, hoisting him over her shoulder. Faith was right behind her with Spike as the raced out of the cave. Once they reached a same distance they stopped, gasping for air.

"Damn, B. You were right. That son of a bitch tried to kill them."

"I wish I was wrong" she said shaking her head "We better get them back before the sun comes up"

* * *

Xander stirred from his sleep as he heard the door to his room open then close.

"Faith?" he asked sitting up. The motion cause a sharp pain in his abdomen and he winced.

"Lay down" Fred said gently laying a hand on his chest and pushing him toward the bed "Faith and Buffy went to rescue Spike and Angel"

"Buffy's back?"

"Looks like. How are you feeling?"

"I'm okay" Xander said and actually meant it this time. Faith had been taking good care of him. Which really surprised him, but it also made him happy. Her presence was comforting. "How are you?"

"I've never felt better. I think I might actually be stronger than I was before . . . everything."

"That's not what I meant"

"I know. It's weird. I feel like no time has gone by. So much has happened and I have a blue clone of myself walking around. It's an interesting feeling"

"I understand. Once I had a clone of myself walking around that I thought was evil. But he wasn't and we were merged into one Xander again . . . I guess that doesn't really help much"

"No, no it helps. Now I know someone knows what I'm going through" she smiled. She turned her head towards the door as she heard rustling downstairs. "I think they're back" she quickly walked down the stairs and into the lobby as Faith walked into the room, carrying Spike. She laid him on the couch and went back outside to help Buffy with Angel.

Fred surveyed the two vampires. They didn't appear to be badly injured. All they had were a few cuts and bruises and minor burns. They would heal soon enough to take their revenge on The Immortal.

"Thanks, Faith" Buffy said as she turned to walk out the door.

"Wait. Where are you going?"

"Home. Some things are going to change"

* * *

The Immortal walked up to Buffy's door and knocked quietly. He walked in when he heard her soft invitation. He opened the door and threw his coat on the back of the chair.

"Hey" he said walking up to Buffy who was sitting on the couch reading a magazine. "I brought you a present"

"I like presents!" Buffy said grabbing the little box out of his hand.

She tore away the paper to reveal an ancient looking knife. She put on her best surprised face and turn to thank him.

"It's African. That's where I was on business. I saw this and knew you'd like it. Where were you? I called about an hour ago and Dawn said you weren't home"

"I went on a little trip of my own"

"Really? Without dawn? Where'd you go"

"I went to clean up your mess" Buffy said not taking her eyes off the knife. It was a convenient present. She might just end up using it tonight.

"Excuse me?" The Immortal asked.

"I took a little trip to Los Angeles. I'll give you one guess for what I found there"

"I have no idea what your talking about"

"You know what your problem is?" Buffy said chuckling "You brag too much. You gave me way too much information, which led me straight to a couple of vampires."

"I did it for your own good" he said not even trying to deny it anymore.

"I HATE it when people make major decisions about my life for me. I least of all wanted you to. I want you to get out of my house"

"I'm not leaving"

"Maybe this will convince you otherwise" she said pulling out the knife "You may be the big bad Immortal, but I'm still the Slayer"

"I'm sorry it had to turn out this way" he said "You may be a Slayer, but you can't fight an army of demons by yourself" Buffy turned to look behind her, where at least 10 demons started to make their way through her open windows.


	9. Plans

**A/N** Sorry this is up so late. It was an episode from a few weeks ago. The reason it's so late is because The Good Fight is on hiatus. For more info check out my bio. This episode was written by our new author SinisterChicHeatherMartin.

* * *

Buffy fell into a fighting stance. She clutched the African knife tightly. She didn't want anything from the Immortal, but it was the nearest weapon around. She'd dispose of it after it had outlived its usefulness.  
  
"You'd be surprised-"She spun around, prepared to stab the unworthy thing she had actually kissed. The thought brought a foul taste to her mouth. She froze when she realized he was gone. "-what I'm capable of."  
  
Coward, her mind cried. He ran away. There wasn't time to savor that humorous notion. The demons stormed in, crowding around her. They were nasty creatures with slimy gray skin, giant yellow eyes, and slobbery jaws.  
  
Buffy winced. "Before we start, anyone want to take a tic-tac break?"  
  
All as one, the demons snarled. "Okay, guess not."  
  
That was when the battle began. Buffy went from one demon to the next. She managed to do minor damage but couldn't score any fatal points. They were quick, and having to pay attention to all of them was hard.  
  
"Buffy! What is going on?"  
  
Buffy whipped her head around. Her sister stood in the hallway, clad in her teddy bear pajamas.  
  
"Dawnie, get back to your room. I can handle these guys," Buffy said.  
  
Dawn's face hardened. She shook her head. "I don't think so. You didn't teach me self-defense for nothing."  
  
The demons took advantage of the distraction. One slashed its talons across the slayer's stomach. Her shirt soaked with red and she stumbled backwards. She was momentarily stunned, vaguely aware of a demon making its way toward Dawn. She couldn't act quickly enough.  
  
Dawn ducked and avoided the attack. Buffy smiled with pride. She had learned well.  
  
"Get to the weapon chest!" Buffy shouted.  
  
Dawn fled for the chest. Buffy kept an eye on her while deflecting blows until Dawn withdrew a sword. The sight was pretty comical. A teenage girl in her sleepwear prepared to fight.  
  
Confident her sister was okay, Buffy focused on the foes in front of her. She hit hard and fast. She stabbed out with her knife. All of a sudden there was a thud. Buffy blinked. She had killed one. Finally. She continued, thinking little, putting everything into her movements. Her knife was abruptly kicked out of her grasp.  
Her forehead stung. Blood trickled down the side of her face. When had that happened? Her head spun.  
  
The demons could sense her dizzy state. They circled her. She felt her knees give out.  
  
Just then a mass of black jumped in. Then there was another.  
  
"Spike?" she croaked. "Angel?"  
  
Spike grinned. "Ello, luv. Got trouble I see."  
  
"When do I not?"  
  
They grinned at each other.  
  
The demons were defeated easily after that. Four against ten . . . no, nine, were better odds.  
  
Afterwards, the warriors eyed each other. Dawn had an expression of excitement. She practically was jumping up and down.  
  
"I got one!" she exclaimed. "I hacked off his head!"  
  
Buffy scrunched up her nose. "That is probably where all the stench is coming from. We really need to get these corpses out of my house."  
  
"Good job, bit," Spike congratulated the girl.  
  
Dawn's face glowed even more.  
  
Buffy tried to look commanding. "What are you doing here?"  
  
"We left right after you did. Faith told us what you were up to. You don't understand what the Immortal is capable of, Buffy. He's dangerous," Angel said.  
  
"I see. So you two were my knights in shining armor?"  
  
"Not like you're a damsel in distress. We were just worried is all," Spike said. His blue eyes bore into her.  
  
"I know." She paused. "Thank you." She glanced at Angel. "Both of you."  
  
Spike stepped over to her side. He took his left hand and touched the gash on her forehead. "You're hurt."  
  
The pain was suddenly gone, replaced by warmth. "I'm fine," she whispered.  
Spike withdrew his fingers. He cleared his throat. "Still should bandage it."  
  
She nodded.  
  
Angel, Spike, and Buffy got rid of the demon bodies.  
  
"I'm so going to need to disinfect this place. Or, hey, maybe Willow can do a deodorizing spell!"  
  
Dawn came into the living room. She had changed into a pair of flared jeans and blue top.  
  
"Now what?" Dawn asked. "We can't stay here."  
  
"You're right," Buffy agreed.  
  
"We should contact Giles. He's good with solving problems."  
  
Buffy's eyes widened. "We have to warn the others. The Immortal might try to hurt them. Everyone comes at me through my friends."  
  
"Right then," Spike commented. "Let's get a move on it."  
  
She followed the others to the door. Then she halted. "Wait." She turned. She spotted the piece of metal near her sofa. She snatched it up off the carpet.  
  
"Nice knife," Angel complimented.  
  
Buffy examined every angle of it. She decided to delay getting rid of it. "It was a gift. One I have to return."  
  
She continued her exit.  
  
She'd return it all right.

* * *

The big-wigs were discussing the situation in Giles's office. They had been doing so for over three hours. There was no plan yet. Dawn left right after she figured out she wasn't needed. They hardly realized she was around.  
  
She bumped into Andrew on her way out.  
  
"Dawn. Hi," he said.  
  
She forced a smile.  
"Where's the kitchen?"  
  
"Come, let me give you a tour of the mansion," Andrew said.  
  
"Really, all I want is a sandwich."  
  
Andrew pointed to a picture on the wall. "And this dates back to the 1800s when . . ."  
  
Dawn inwardly groaned.  
  
"I called the others," Buffy informed. "They're on their way."  
  
"Good," Giles said.  
  
Giles was silent for a moment.  
  
"Giles, you have worried face."  
  
"What? Oh. Yes. Well . . . Buffy, maybe the best course of action is to lay low for awhile. The council has many safe houses."  
  
"You mean hide?" She sounded incredulous by the suggestion.  
  
Leaning against a bookshelf, Spike frowned. "Didn't we try that with Glory?"  
  
"That was running away," Buffy said. "Minor difference."  
  
The slayer turned her attention back to the head watcher. "I'm not the sort to cower away in fear. I'm the type that deals with things head-on. We should find out how to kill him, not escape him."  
  
"And we will. But until then –"  
  
Giles was interrupted by a high-pitched scream.  
  
Buffy, Spike, and Angel immediately rushed out of the office. They headed in the direction of the scream. Andrew appeared out of nowhere. He ran straight into Spike, clinging to the vampire. Spike stiffened.  
  
"Spike, oh Spike!" Andrew cried. "They got Dawn!"

* * *

Dawn scowled at the Immortal. She strained against her bindings.  
"My sister is so going to kick your ass," she spat.  
  
He seemed amused.  
  
"Really? How can she do that is she is no longer a slayer?" the Immortal questioned.  
  
Dawn gaped. "What?"  
  
He loomed over her. "That's where you come in, little key. You're going to use your green power to do away with the slayers."  
  
Dawn shuddered. "But I don't know how to," she protested.  
  
He held up a dagger. "That's why we're going to experiment a bit." 


	10. Rescue

**A/N **Well we are officially back from Hiatus! Sorry it took so long, but now we have a new site at www.thegoodfight. Thanks to bloodwreck for being such wonderful hosts. We have very exciting things coming up so be sure to check it out. Hope you guys like it and please review!

* * *

Dawn gulped. Experiment? Did he just say experiment? By the look on his face she figured it wasn't going to be the fun chemistry type of experimenting she had done in class. Her eyes drifted to the dagger in his hands and a small whimper escaped her lips.

"Don't worry Dawnie," the Immortal said in a calming tone "This isn't going to hurt . . .much."

He made a small laceration on her forearm and held a small vile to the wound, collecting the blood. When he was done he placed the vile and a table and wrapped her wound with gauze. She stared at him bemused. He laughed slightly at her expression.

"I'm not a monster, Dawn. I don't want to cause you too much pain. Plus your blood is a terrible thing to waste." He winked at her as he grabbed the vile and walked out of the room.

* * *

"That son of a bitch." Buffy said clenching her fists. "How the hell did he get in here undetected?"

Giles shook his head. "I've no idea. Why would he want Dawn and not come straight for you?"

"He wants to make me pay. Giles he's going to hurt her. He's capable of it. We need to find out where he took her."

"I'll send a group. But right now we still need to get you to a safe location."

"Please tell me you're not suggesting that I run while my sister is still in danger?" Buffy asked clenching her fists.

"Believe me I want to find Dawn, but we also need to keep you out of danger. It'd be foolish for you to run right to him." Buffy stared at him, trying to control her anger. She knew he was only looking out for her best interest and she was touched that he cared, but she had to find her sister. She pushed passed him and walked into the weaponry.

"Where are you going?" the Watcher asked though he already knew the answer.

"Are you coming?" she asked Giles. She was surprised when he shook his head.

"It's a deathtrap Buffy and I don't have a death wish."

"I've got your back Slayer." Spike said grabbing a battle axe. She nodded, silently thanking him, then looked to Angel.

"Buffy I have to agree with Giles. It's not safe for you to go fight the Immortal. Spike and I can go alone."

She shot him a seething look. He held her gaze, but his eyes held pain. She shook her head and laughed softly. She took out a box from the self, opened it up and pulled out the Scythe. She was through playing games, she wanted to end this now. She walked out of the room with Spike in tow.

Angel watched them go and sighed. He grabbed a sword and silently followed the Slayer and Vampire.

"Watch her." Giles called after him. Angel just nodded.

* * *

"So what the Immortal all of a sudden decided that he was evil and kidnaped Dawn?" Faith asked Willow as she cradled the phone on her shoulder. She was training in the Hotel lobby when Willow called to inform her of their situation.

"It's slightly more complicated than that. Buffy broke up with him because of what he tried to do to Angel and Spike. As you can image that messed with his ego so he tried to have her killed. Now she, Angel, and Spike have gone out to try to rescue Dawn."

"Do they know where he took her?"

"Not yet. But Faith I have a feeling this is going to bet really bad, really fast. We need you back here."

"I can't. Xander's doing better, but he's in no condition to travel. I have to stay with him." Faith said, though she knew she had to go back to England. Not too long ago she would have blew it all off. Hell, she wouldn't even have bothered with Xander or Robin, for that matter.

"Faith, I appreciate what you're doing for Xander, but . . ."

"Yeah, I know. I'll catch a flight and be there by morning." She hung up the phone and sighed. She turned to walk up to her room when she noticed Fred coming down the stairs. Faith had noticed that the girl had been doing better the past couple of days. It helped that Illyria was in England with the rest of the group. "Hey Fred."

"Hi. What's new?"

"Homicidal ex's."

"I see."

"I have to go back to England to help out. I guess the Immortal kidnaped Dawn and is looking to put the hurt on Buffy."

"Don't worry I can take care of Xander for you. I've had a lot of experience helping patch up all of Angel's wounds."

"Thanks, but you two are coming with me." Faith told her. She knew that Xander was far from being one hundred percent, but she couldn't leave them both alone. There were too many forces in LA that wanted to hurt them. "Get your things together and I'll get Xander ready. We're leaving in ten minutes."

* * *

"Buffy, where are you?"Dawn asked softly as she stared at the stark white wall in front of her. She kept imagining Buffy tearing through the door and rescuing her from the Immortal, but she had a sinking feeling that this might be the one time Buffy couldn't save her. She wasn't sure how long she had been here, but it seemed like forever. It had also been a long time since anyone had been in to check on her. After the Immortal took her blood a few of his guards checked in every so often, but no one had come in a long time.

She was startled when she heard a loud thud and then a scream. Buffy? Was it her? It had to be. She always had perfect timing. She must be tearing it up with the guards outside right now.

"Buffy!" she scream as she heard more commotion outside. "Buffy I'm in here!"

The door to the room burst open and the Immortal came flying through. He grabbed her neck and pinned her to the wall.

"That bitch isn't here," he said, seething. He let go of her and grabbed a container from the table and threw it against the wall. "What the hell is wrong with you? Your blood isn't enough! Why do dark rituals always have a catch? It should be easy. A few ingredients, your blood, and incantation, then poof! No more damn Slayers."

Dawn stared at him as he rambled and threw things. He was losing it and it frightened her. He was capable of anything, but when he was crazy he didn't have his normal logic and resolve that stopped him from doing something drastic, like killing her.

Her fears were realized when he grabbed a knife and held it to her neck. "Tell me the secret. I know you know what little part of the spell I'm missing. Tell me and I won't hurt you".

"Tell me!" he screamed when she didn't answer.

"I-I don't know." Dawn whispered shakily.

She felt the knife press harder on her neck, then it fell to the ground, along with the Immortal.

* * *

"I should have known he would have come back here," Buffy said staring up at the mansion. "He's not like the smart villains who hide out. Nope he always goes for the swanky obvious places."

"Is this the gonna be one of the charge in and make our presence known rescues or are we going to sneak in and out without them knowing?"

"Well I think we are going to have to try the latter," she said turning to Spike "But knowing him, he has a lot of people guarding this place so we're probably in for a fight."

"I'm always ready for one," he said winking at her.

"I think we should go in through the window over there," Angel said jogging towards them "I was looking for the best way to get in and I think that's it. Plus I think they are keeping Dawn on the other side of the castle because that's where most of the guards are."

"Sounds like a plan."

The trio walked quietly towards the castle, climbed a tree next to the window, and jumped in. They started down a corridor. The hallway was eerily quiet. A chill ran down Buffy's spine and she shivered.

"Are you alright?" Angel asked in a whisper.

"Yeah. I-It's just . . . I think we're getting close."

They reached the end of the corridor and were met by two doors.

"Isn't this just perfect?"

"I'll take this one" Buffy said pointing to the one closest to her "You to go that way. Remember get Dawn, then get out."

* * *

"Ugh. I should have taken Dramamine."

"Motion sickness?"

"Yeah," Xander replied "It doesn't help having a gaping wound in my stomach either."

"It's not that bad. You're getting better. I think you're just a baby," Faith smiled.

"Yeah, but a cute one," Xander said returning her smile. Faith had surprised him the last couple of days. She had looked after him and actually stayed with him most of the time, which surprised him because it wasn't really like her. Although, he had to admit that the Slayer had changed from the person he first knew. Despite himself he could feel come old feelings for the brunette resurfacing. Before she had killed the deputy mayor he thought that he might actually have a chance with her and he was starting to feel the same way again.

His gaze shifted to the other brunette sitting across from then. Fred was curled up in her seat, fast asleep. He hadn't really known her that long, but he could tell that this girl was very different from the person she had once been.

"How's she doing?" he asked Faith.

"As well as someone could do in this situation, " she replied lifting her eyebrows "I think she still feels that this is all not happening."

"Have you talked to Buffy?" he asked changing the subject.

"No. When Willow called she, Angel, and Spike already left to find Dawn. I have a bad feeling about this. I just hope we get there soon."

* * *

It hadn't taken Buffy long to find The Immortal. Once she had parted with Spike and Angel she followed a corridor that led her to where she was now. It was a large white room, a stark contrast to the rest of the house which was painted and decorated with rich colors. From what she could tell The Immortal was performing some sort of spell, but she couldn't get close enough to hear what he was saying.

As she watched him , he seemed to become more agitated. Buffy heard him scream and throw something against the wall. He stared at a guard who was standing in front of the only door in the room, then he stormed through it.

She crept quietly into the room, behind the guard, and speared him to the ground. They fought for a moment, but she quickly got the upper hand and knocked him out. Buffy ran to the doorway and threw the scythe at the Immortal.

"Dawn are you okay?" the Slayer asked as she stepped over the fallen body of The Immortal and unchained her sister.

"Is he dead?"

"No. But he'll wake up with a hell of a back ache. He doesn't heal as fast as I do, but it's nearly impossible to kill him." she stated as she picked up the scythe and headed out of the room.

"Nearly?" Dawn asked as they ran out of the room and down a corridor.

"Well I know there's a way to, I just don't know what that is. Keep an eye out for Spike and Angel." Buffy saw her sister out of the corner of her eye. She looked worried. Buffy knew the feeling. She was worried about Spike and Angel and finding a safe way out of here. Surprisingly they were getting close to the window where they came in, but there was still no sign of her two vampires. She couldn't just leave them here, but she knew she couldn't risk keeping Dawn here any longer.

"Damn," Buffy said as she got a plan. It was risky, she knew, but it was the only way she knew of reaching Angel and Spike. She used the tip of the scythe to make a little cut an her palm. As they reached the window she touched her palm to the sill.

"What are you doing?" Dawn asked staring at the blood running from her sisters hand.

"Praying that the Immortal doesn't have many vampire guards." The Slayer explained as she half guided and half pushed her sister out of the window. Before following her out she took one last look down the corridor. "Come on guys."


	11. Cursed

**A/N **I'm _horrible, _I know and I'm sorry. First you suffer through an unbelievably long hiatus, then once you think we are back for good, we're gone again. And this may seem like an empty promise, BUT we are back for good . . .well more correctly I am back for good. This project started out with about 5 authors and me. Now it's just me. Real life gets in the way of a lot of things, it's pesky like that, but hopefully there is enough time for me to update this fic as often as possible. I hope you all enjoy this and please review. It helps me know people are (hopefully) still interested in The Good Fight. Press the button and let me know. Thank You!

* * *

"Find anything?" 

"No,"Angel replied "You?"

"Couple of guards. Took care of them though."

Spike and Angel had split up to locate the Slayer's sister, but had no luck in doing so. It was nearing the two hour mark and Angel was starting to worry. They had not seen Buffy since they parted ways at the door and they had no way of knowing what happened to her. The more time they spent at the Immortal's mansion the more uneasy he became.

"Let's go back. We need to find Buffy." Spike just nodded and they hurried back the way they came. When they reached the two doors Angel began to go through the one Buffy had chosen, but noticed Spike sniffing in air. Angel did the same and immediately knew what Spike had smelled.

"It's fresh," Spike said sniffing again. "It's coming from the way we came in." They darted back to the window they climbed through, following the scent of Buffy's blood. The reached the window and saw a large stain of blood on the sill. "She must've found her."

"Let's get back," Angel nodded.

* * *

"Buffy, this isn't the way back to the council," Dawn noted as she and her sister drove through the deserted streets.

"We're not going back to the Council. He got in once and I'm sure he'd do it again."

"So where are we going?"

"A friend's house," was all The Slayer said as she continued to drive. The first signs of morning were starting to show as the sun began it's assent. Dawn inspected the cut on her shoulder and noticed that it had stopped bleeding and was beginning to scab. She touched her finger to it and winced.

"You okay?"

"Yeah, it's not that bad." Her sister smiled softly at her. In that moment Dawn knew things would never be the same again. In her short life she had many of these moments and they often occurred to her at little moments like this. A reassuring smile from her sister made Dawn realize that once again her life would be changed forever.

Dawn looked over at her sister. There was something, possibly many things, weighing heavily on The Slayer's mind and Dawn wished that she knew how to alleviate her sister's stress. When Sunnydale went down with the Hellmouth she thought things would be different, but Dawn was wrong. Buffy was no longer the only Slayer, but now she was in charge of hundreds, maybe thousands, of young girls who wielded this enormous power. Plus, creepy things always seemed to gravitate towards Buffy. There was no escape for her.

"Dawnie, why don't you try to get some sleep. I'm going to call Giles and tell him what's going on?"

"Alright," Dawn replied realizing, for the first time, how tired she really was.

* * *

"Hey, Fred," Faith said softly "We're here."

Fred opened her eyes and took a moment to register where she was. After a moment the memories came flooding back to her and she stood up, grabbing her things. It was easier when she was asleep. Her dreams were filled with images of Wesley. Some were her memories with him, but most were like pictures of the future that could have been.

Their trip to England was not something she was looking forward too. Mostly because of the blue demon that walked around with her body. Illyria unnerved her more than she would like to admit and just being in the same building as the Goddess freaked her out. The only tie she had to her old life was Angel. Spike was there to offer a friendly smile, but whenever he was in the same room with Buffy, Fred could tell his thoughts mainly focused on her. Plus he seemed to gravitate towards Illyria rather that her. Fred didn't take it personally she knew she had missed a lot and did not yet know all the details of what happened while she was dead.

Faith led the way to the car, half carrying Xander. He put on a brave face, but Fred could tell he was still in a lot of pain. He slept most of the day, but when he was awake he was always friendly towards her, though they had never met.

The first rays of sun were rising over the horizon and Fred had a sinking feeling in her gut. Bad things were coming she knew it and by the look on The Slayer's face, Faith knew it as well. The ride back to the council was uneventful. Not until they reached the council did things become interesting.

As their limo approached the first thing Fred noticed was Angel and Spike running into the building with their coats over their heads. They didn't seem to be hurt, except for the few strands of smoke. They were lucky enough to narrowly miss the complete sunrise.

"What happened to you guys?" Faith asked when they were inside the building.

"We went with Buffy to rescue the Little Bit," Spike said smoothing the wrinkles out of his coat.

"So where are they?"

"They're not here?" Angel asked with a hint of fear in his voice.

"Don't know. We just got here."

The three exchanged looks and ran up to Giles' office. As they entered they saw Giles talking on the phone and a worried looking Willow sitting on the opposite side of the desk.

"Yes, they just arrived actually. Be safe," he said before hanging up.

"Where's Buffy?"

"I just hung up with her. She assures me that she and Dawn are alright. She wouldn't tell me where they were going."

"Why didn't they just come back here?" Faith asked.

"I guess she figures that since The Immortal got in undetected once there was no telling when he would do it again. Wherever she's going it's far away from here."

"Where's Xander?" Willow interjected quickly.

"Oh, he's in the infirmary getting his bandages changed," Faith replied momentarily forgetting about Xander. "We need to find a room for Fred. Some place far away from Illyria."

"Where is Big Blue anyway?" Spike asked moving to sit down.

"That's a good question," Giles said shrugging. "I haven't seen her at all today, but I heard she was with the Slayers training or mocking them. Honestly, I'm not sure which. At any rate I think we need to sort out our Immortal predicament. I already have some people looking into ways in which he can be killed, but we can't expect much help from outside sources, as you know the Immortal is a loved figure in the demon world."

"Not with everyone," Angel retorted.

"Damn prick," Spike added.

"In the meantime," Giles continued, ignoring the vampires. "I think we should increase our security level. Willow I'd like you to work with the Coven to energize our protection spells. Faith will work with the new Slayers to prepare them for what may lie ahead. And you two," he said looking to Angel and Spike "will go look for Buffy. We need her in this."

* * *

It was late by the time Buffy and Dawn reached their destination. They got out of the car and stood in front of a beautiful looking house. The bright paint shone against the black sky.

"I never thought hiding out could look this good. In the movies people stay in shacks or in the sewer," Dawn said wrinkling her nose.

"Yeah, well I like to live in style," a voice said from the door. Dawn squealed and ran to hug the figure.

"Wow, Dawn last time I saw you, you were like three feet tall."

"It'd be easier to buy her clothes if she was," Buffy said coming up behind them. "It's good to see you Oz."

"Likewise. Come in it's cold out here."

They entered the house and set down their things. Oz's gaze drifted to the metal weapon resting in the Slayer's hand. Buffy caught his gaze and smiled. "Have Scythe, will travel."

Oz smiled slightly and nodded. "I have you're room set up upstairs. I hope everything is alright."

"I'm sure it's fine. Thanks for doing this, Oz. Especially on such short notice."

"Anything to help a friend. We can catch up tomorrow. You guys have had a long night."

Buffy smiled thankfully and trudged up the stairs with her sister in tow. They settled into their room quickly and fell asleep.

* * *

Buffy awoke with a start. Her Slayer senses were tingling and she could tell something wasn't right. She got out of bed and moved to open the door, but someone beat her to it. The door slammed into her and she flew backward. The Slayer got to her feet quickly only to be struck down again. The sounds of her sister's screams filled her ears and Buffy struggled to get the upper hand against her attacker.

It became apparent that there was more of them filing into the room. All The Immortal's men. She recognized them. To her surprise they were not going after her sister, they had come for something else and in a moment she knew what it was. With dread filling her gut her eyes rested on the Scythe in one of the intruders hands. She tried to push the man off of her, but soon all there was, was darkness.

* * *

What seemed like moments later she was awake again and struggling to breath. She smelled the smoke before she saw it. Her eyes shot open and Buffy was aware of the chaos before her. The room around her was on fire and the house was starting to crumble. Dawn and Oz were tied to chairs next to her and trying to fight off their bonds. The ropes were tied too tight and The Slayer couldn't break them. Buffy went for the next best thing and broke the chair instead. This time the ropes slid off easily and she moved to rip the ropes off of her two companions. Together they flew down the stairs and ran outside with seconds to spare as the house started to cave in on itself.

"Why does this stuff always happen to me?"

"You're cursed. I thought it was obvious."

Buffy would've found the comment amusing if it wasn't true. She scanned the area, but none of their attackers were in sight. She sighed and looked to Dawn.

"I guess we should go back to the Council. I don't think there's anywhere safe anymore."

"Do you mind if I come with?" Oz asked taking a look at his burning house. "Not much left for me here."

"Of course. We should get going." The three piled into Oz's car and took off back to London.


End file.
